In Sweden, priests have the authority to seal marriages as official registrars. Thus, the union they seal is valid in Church and civilly. The motion proposes that the Church of Sweden classifies conscientious objections against sealing same-sex marriage in the Church as discrimination.

As a consequence of that, priests who do not want to bless a same-sex marriage in Church should lose their priesthood, the motion reads, according to Kyrkans Tidning, the Church's bulletin.

The motion was put forward by the Social Democrat leader Jesper Enerot. He wants the Synod to fire any priest who "discriminates against someone because of their gender, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation."

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Stefan Lofven says as they are members of Sweden's State church which agreed in a recent Synod that it would support same sex marriage, all priests should do the same.

If they don't want to do this they should leave the Church, he says.

Lofven also says only priests who agree with same-sex marriage should be ordained.

Although the Synod did agree to performing same-sex marriage, it does not require individual priests to carry out the weddings if they don't want to.

The church currently allows priests to choose to refuse to perform weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Lofven likens the priest-and-gay-marriage situation with that of Swedish midwives who refuse to perform abortions.

"If you work as a midwife must be able to perform abortions, otherwise you have to do something else. It is the same for priests who do not want to perform same-sex marriages," he says.

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• Breitbart
• RT
• Image: Pace Vegas