California Court ruling could reignite Anglican world feud: CEN 5.23.08 p 6. May 22, 2008
Posted by geoconger in California, Church of England Newspaper, Human Sexuality --- The gay issue, Los Angeles.trackback
THE CALIFORNIA Supreme Court decision striking down laws banning gay marriage will directly impact the Episcopal Church’s civil war over homosexuality, several leading bishops have claimed.
The May 15 decision has emboldened liberal activists who hope the ruling will support their drive to regularize same-sex blessings at the church’s 2009 General Convention.
Dr Rowan Williams has urged bishops attending this summer’s Lambeth Conference not to campaign on divisive theological issues, but bishops backing same-sex blessings are expected to use Lambeth as a platform to announce their intent to revise the Episcopal Church’s marriage doctrine and discipline. Citing recent changes in American and Canadian law, the bishops are expected to argue that as a matter of justice, they will not be able to conform to traditional teachings.
Bishop Marc Andrus of California said the court ruling redefining marriage will have “ecclesial implications,” while Los Angeles Bishop Jon Bruno said the decision was important for the Episcopal Church “because it reflects our baptismal vow to ‘strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being’ and our commitment to justice and mercy for all people.”
His diocese would “continue to advocate for equality in the future and will do so” at the 2009 General Convention. “I celebrate and give thanks for this decision of the court and look forward with joy and excitement to a future of justice and mercy for all people in the State of California and the Episcopal Church,” Bishop Bruno said.
The Court argued the state’s distinction between marriage and civil partnerships was a “significantly unequal partnership” and might be seen as a “mark of second-class citizenship.” It likened homosexuality to race and gender, and said it could not uphold a “tradition that excludes a historically disfavoured minority group from a status that is extended to all others.”
The state’s Catholic bishops and other traditional religious groups have denounced the decision, while on May 16 Pope Benedict XVI restated his church’s teaching that “the union of love, based on matrimony between a man and a woman, which makes up the family, represents a good for all society that cannot be substituted by, confused with, or compared to other types of unions.”
California voters will have the final say on the decision, when they vote on an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. However San Diego Bishop James Mathes has urged Episcopalians to vote “no”.
The US Constitution “has only been successfully amended to expand rights, not remove them, and it follows that California would maintain a similar posture,” Bishop Mathes said.
Comments»
No comments yet — be the first.