The Church of England is poised to offer public blessing services for same-sex couples in a historic shift in teaching. A long-awaited review of church teaching by a panel of bishops recommends lifting the ban on special services which will amount to weddings in all but name. Although the Church will continue to opt out Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Same-sex marriage’
One third of same sex marriages overseas residents
Friday, November 8th, 2013
Provisional Statistics New Zealand figures show 117 same sex couples have married since on August 19. Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson said the information shows: One third of same sex marriages were for overseas residents. 47 of the 117 marriages were couples who transferred their civil union to marriage . There were 61 female couples and 56 Read more
Vatican conducts survey on gay marriage, contraception, divorce
Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
The Vatican is conducting a worldwide survey on how parishes deal with sensitive issues such as contraception, divorce and gay couples. The Vatican, through the survey, is asking bishops and parish priests around the world about local views on gay marriage, divorce and birth control ahead of a meeting of bishops next year to discuss Read more
Same-sex marriage bill in Hawai’i passes Committee stage
Friday, November 1st, 2013The Hawai’i Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee has voted to pass a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawai’i. The vote came after nearly 12 hours of testimony from the public, as more than 400 people addressed lawmakers during Monday’s public hearing before the Senate committee. In addition, Senate clerks say more than 4,000 pages Read more
State should stay out of churches’ business
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013
Parliament’s sanctioning of same-sex marriage this year has prompted galloping expectations, not least where churches are involved. One has been tested in the Human Rights Review Tribunal by the Gay and Lesbian Clergy Anti-Discrimination Society on behalf of Eugene Sisneros, an events co-ordinator at St Matthew-in-the-City who claimed he was rejected for a priest training Read more
TV item on Catholic school anti-gay comments deemed unfair by BSA
Friday, October 11th, 2013
A Close Up item based on a Catholic school newsletter objecting to gay marriage has been found to be unfair and inaccurate by the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA). A complaint from Pompallier Catholic College in Whangarei about the televised item was upheld in a decision released this week. Close Up, which no longer screens on Read more
Churches in Pacific struggle for consensus on same sex marriage
Friday, October 4th, 2013
Pacific churches hope to formulate a joint stand on same sex marriages by mid 2015. A Pacific Council of Churches Secretariat team is expected to begin a data gathering process early in 2014, visiting clergy and lay people in churches around the region. This process will ensure that as many views as possible are gathered Read more
Cardinal Burke sees ‘grave scandal’ in US Catholic colleges
Friday, October 4th, 2013The prefect of the Vatican’s supreme tribunal, the Apostolic Signatura, says a “false sense of dialogue” has led to “grave scandal” on many Catholic college campuses in the United States. Cardinal Raymond Burke, said it is impossible to reconcile the Catholic identity of a Catholic college with decisions to honour political figures who have taken Read more
Pope Francis did what I didn’t
Tuesday, October 1st, 2013
A man I know said to me yesterday that I must be outraged about what Pope Francis is saying. I inwardly rolled my mind’s eye. Let me just tell you who this guy is. He’s a professed non-believer. A former Catholic. The worst kind, right? And he’s a bit in your face about it too, Read more
82 same sex marriages since law change
Tuesday, September 24th, 2013
There have been eighty-two same sex marriages since 19 August 2013, the first day same sex couples could get married in New Zealand. Thirty eight of these marriages have been between people who had already been in a civil union. 58 couples were resident in New Zealand, 24 were from elsewhere. The Registrar-General of Births, Read more