The Episcopal Church of Scotland still has put HIV / AIDS on the cover of its December newsletter ... © Scotland.anglican.org.
(Blogmensgo, December 14, 2011) The Episcopal Church of Scotland told the Scottish Government on December 6, 2011, that it would refuse to perform marriages between same sex couples. A week earlier it’s colleague the Presbyterian church gave a similar response, as was done before the leaders of Muslim and Catholic Scotland.
[Summary | Detailed Response (PDF)]
The leaders of all persuasions have responded negatively to the possible celebration of gay and lesbian marriages among their flock. These negative responses are the result of a consultation launched three months ago by the Scottish Government on the acceptance of gay marriage by the civil and religious authorities.
The Episcopal Church of Scotland, which claims 40,000 followers, bases its doctrine on a canon stating that marriage is the “physical, spiritual and mystic union of a man and woman, created by the mutual consent of their heart, their spirit and their will, as a sacred bond of a lifetime instituted by God.” Episcopalians and leaders indicate that they are “opposed to the enactment of the marriage between same sex, whether on religious or civil.”
In the same response to the government, the Episcopal hierarchy refuses to celebrate religious civil partnerships, arguing that the case does not look that civilian authorities.
But the Episcopal Church of Scotland will not change his mind if the Anglican Church, to which it belongs, takes a different final decision. The Anglican bishops feel they have not yet had time to settle the question definitively. Where appropriate, a full or partial reversal of the Episcopal Church of Scotland remains an option.
According to the article that I use as a source, “the Episcopal Church of Scotland had once seemed to take a more liberal option on the question of homosexuality. In particular it argued that the fact of being a homosexual couple was not a barrier to ordination to the clergy. ”
Religious communities and religious officials will not be forced to perform same sex marriages even if gay marriage were legal, said the Scottish Government. In England and Scotland, heterosexual civil marriages can be celebrated and formalized in places of worship rather than the town hall if both bride and groom want.
This article has been translated from our French blog, the view the original version please click here.
Matt & Philca / MensGo
(via La Croix (in french) of December 8, 2011)
