Canada's Largest Church Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

(CNSNews.com) - Weeks after Canadian high courts ruled to allow same-sex marriage in two provinces, delegates from Canada's largest Protestant community passed a motion calling on the federal government to endorse same-sex marriage throughout the country.

The 38th General Council of the United Church of Canada, representing Methodists, Presbyterians and the Congregational Union of Canada, passed the motion after just 45 minutes of debate at its annual conference in Nova Scotia last week.

Conservatives warned the motion could have implications for churches in the United States and elsewhere. Linda Harvey, president of Mission: America, a conservative public policy group, said the Canadian church's decision likely will impact churches in the United States.

"I don't think it's inevitable that we will follow suit in this country, but I do believe that there will be mainline large denominations in this country, possibly the United Methodists, possibly others, that will endorse same-sex marriage in the near future," Harvey said.

Harvey predicted that if U.S. churches follow suit, they will likely notice a drop in membership.

"They may have some other people join their churches to replace them, but I think the net result will be a loss of membership," Harvey said.

The United Church is seen as one of the most liberal churches in Canada. In 1988, it became the first major church to ordain open homosexuals, a move that caused a large number of members to leave. In 1992, it created a liturgy for blessing same-sex unions.

The motion calls on the church to lobby the Canadian Justice Department in favor of same-sex marriage. The difference between last week's motion and previous church statements in support of same-sex marriage is this motion actually uses the word marriage, church officials told reporters.

The United Church leaves it up to the more than 3,000 congregations in Canada and Bermuda to decide if they will marry same-sex couples.

Groups pushing for same-sex marriage welcomed the move. Peggy Hayes, a member of the board of directors of DignityUSA, an advocacy group calling for recognition of same-sex marriage in the Catholic Church, said homosexuals who form healthy, committed relationships should have the option of marriage.

"We also are working towards the day when our church, the Roman Catholic Church, in both the United States and around the world, will bless and honor those unions the way they do of our heterosexual brothers and sisters," Hayes said.

The vote threatens to heat up the battle for votes in Parliament over same-sex marriage legislation.

Since Canadian provinces legalized same-sex marriage, there has been a conservative backlash in the churches and in the legislatures, similar to the effect that recent pro-homosexual rulings had in the United States, Harvey noted.

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien submitted a bill before Parliament to legalize same-sex marriages nationwide, at the same time vowing that he will not compel churches, synagogues and mosques to bless these unions.

Last month, a Catholic archbishop warned Chretien that if he continues to support same-sex marriage, he could be denied the sacraments.

A recent poll of Canada's 170 Liberal Party members showed that 48 opposed same-sex marriage and 60 were in favor. Others were undecided or did not respond.

The Vatican recently called on Catholic lawmakers to vote against same-sex marriage legislation and issued a statement condemning the endorsement of same-sex unions as "gravely immoral."

A clear shift in public opinion on same-sex issues appears to be emerging. A recent Washington Post poll showed that 60 percent of Americans disapproved of the Episcopal Church's decision to recognize the blessing of same-sex unions.

Fewer than four in 10 - or 37 percent - said they would support allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions. This reflected a 12-point drop in support found in a Gallup poll conducted before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law against sodomy.

"There has been quite an awakening in Canada since the legalization in Ontario of same-sex marriage, among the conservatives in the churches, so I think that the same thing is happening here," Harvey said.

"Hopefully, we will be able to stop it from being legalized in this country, but in the meantime, I think there will be denominations that will follow suit with the Canadian denomination," Harvey added.

E-mail a news tip to Lawrence Morahan.

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