Canadian Anglicans to Vote on Blessing Gay Couples
It's a move that could reignite the debate in the global Anglican community about whether the church should marry homosexuals.
On Saturday, the Canadian church's general synod will vote on whether to allow same-sex blessings. The Associated Press reports that bestowing a blessing is one step away from performing gay marriage. Gay marriage has been legal in Canada for four years.
The Victoria News reports that many Anglican ministers are split on the issue -- some say they may even leave the church if the blessing measure is approved.
CanWest reports that African bishops have threatened to throw the Canadians out of the Anglican communion if they approve the measure. However, a top Anglican official in Britain says, regardless of the outcome of the vote, Canada will not be expelled.
(Tom Update: After the discussion of blessing same-sex marriages went into the late hours of the evening, debate was suspended until Sunday. The gathering did defeat a resolution that would have required 60 percent of those voting to approve a same-sex blessing measure in order for it to pass. Any measure will now only require 50 percent of the delegates' vote for approval.)
(Tom Update II: The motion to allow Canadian Anglican dioceses to decide for themselves whether or not to bless same-sex unions was defeated Sunday. Although the lay delegates voted 78-59 in favor and the clergy voted 63-53 in favor, the bishops voted 21-19 against. As a result the motion was defeated, since it required approval by each of the three orders to pass.)
4:23 PM ET | 06-22-2007 | permalink
