The bishops of Canada's Anglican Church voted 21-19 June 24 against giving dioceses the option of allowing priests to bless same-sex marriages.
To be approved, the measure needed majority support in separate votes by three groups at the General Synod meeting in Winnipeg: the bishops, the clergy and the laity. The latter two groups voted in favor of same-sex blessings. The clergy vote was 63-53 and the laity vote 79-59.
Paradoxically, the synod also declared that blessing same-sex marriages does not conflict with the core doctrine of the Anglican Church of Canada. And the newly elected leader of the church, Halifax Bishop Fred Hiltz, voted for gay blessings.
"How long must this conversation continue?" Hiltz asked. "On the one hand, we said it is a matter of doctrine, but not creedal — that is, not essential to one's salvation, shall we say. But on the other hand, the church is not prepared … to proceed immediately with the blessing of same-sex unions."
In the larger context, the entire worldwide Anglican Communion is teetering on the brink of schism because of strong and prolonged disagreements over whether to treat gays the same as straight people.
The U.S. wing of the communion, the Episcopal Church, is in a particularly precarious position because it does allow same-sex blessings and, in 2004, it horrified church conservatives by electing an openly gay and partnered bishop in New Hampshire, an act that effectively tossed red meat to homophobes in developing nations with large Anglican churches, such as Nigeria.
The Anglican mother church, the Church of England — and the Anglican Communion spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams — seem to be trapped between the warring factions and have been unable to make anyone happy.
Canada is one of six nations where gay couples have access to full civil marriage.
– Reported by Rex Wockner
