SWEDEN ALLOWS GAY WEDDINGS
News by HOMOVISION on October 26, 2009 at 9:22 amSwedens largest church – the Lutherian Church of Sweden – has voted to allow gay marriages from next month.
Seventy percent of the church’s synod voted for gay marriage making it one of few global churches in the world to allow same-sex marriage, despite protests from the Church of England that it would harm relations.
Individual priests are not forced to perform same sex ceremonies, and they can still refuse.
The church – which split from state control in 2000 – backed the government’s decision to legalise gay marriage in May.
However representatives from the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Sweden were disappointed by Thursday’s decision: “It is with great sorry that we receive news that the Church of Sweden’s Synod has today decided to wed same-sex couples that it will be referred to as marriage. This is a step backwards, not only from Christian tradition, but also from all of the major world’s religions views of what marriage is,” says Vicar Fredrik Emanuelson of the Catholic Church and Father Misha Jaksic, coordinator of the family of Orthodox Churches in a joint statement.
“We don’t wed same-sex couples in our churches and faith communities because doing so stands in clear opposition to the church’s tradition and to our entire view of creation.”
Tags: Catholics, christian, gay, gays, marriage, performance, priest, religion, sex, vote
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