Church of Ireland to bless gay unions
Saturday March 06 2004
Rev Dr David Short, a Canadian cleric from the first Anglican diocese in the world to bless same-sex unions, made the prediction at a meeting of the Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy (EFIC).
However, his claim was dismissed as "empty speculation" by the Church of Ireland Press Office, although the possibility was not ruled out. Rev Brian Parker said that the Church of Ireland Bishops are "only at the start of a listening process regarding human sexuality".
He pointed out that the Bishops issued an invitation in January to all parties interested in informing their thinking on human sexuality.
Rev Dr David Short is from the Canadian diocese of New Westminster which voted in 2002 to allow the blessing of same-sex unions.
Rev Short's prediction was described as "very unlikely" by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Rt Rev Robert MacCarthy. He said: "There is not the same polarised opinion here that exists in New Westminster which led to the decision to bless same-sex unions."
Rev Short told the EFIC that the Irish bishops' letter on human sexuality, issued last year, "used the same sort of language as similar documents from my diocese in the run-up to its decision to bless same-sex unions".
The letter was issued partly in response to the decision of the American diocese of New Hampshire last year to elect an openly gay man as its bishop. The election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire threatens to cause a worldwide rift in the Anglican community.
Rev Short also predicted that the Anglican Church in the developing world, which now represents two-thirds of Anglicans, "will not back down on the issue".
"It is too important. It is about fidelity to the teaching of Christ and two thousand years of tradition," he said.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy represents about 100 Church of Ireland clerics.
- David QuinnReligious Affairs Correspondent
