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Canadian Anglicans in Travail over Homosexual Marriage

Canadian Anglicans in Travail over Homosexual Marriage
Four Indigenous bishops and pro-LGBTQ bishops find themselves at loggerheads

By David W. Virtue DD
www.virtueonline.org
March 10, 2016

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC) will meet in July, 2016, in Toronto. And they will agonize over whether to approve homosexual marriage.

The General Synod will consider a motion to amend the marriage canon to explicitly allow for the marriage of same-sex couples. Because this is a matter of doctrine and worship, it is required to have a 2/3rds majority in each of the houses of laity, clergy, and bishops. If it gets this - this is considered "First Reading" - it is then sent off to the ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses for feedback, and it will be considered for Second Reading at the next General Synod in 2019. Only then will it take effect.

The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada met in Niagara Falls recently. They issued a statement which said "it became clear to us that the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a 2/3rds majority in each Order."

Apparently it is not a done deal, and, when the General Synod meets, they might just get the 2/3rds majority, according to recent reports.

But here's the kicker. Four ACoC indigenous bishops are against homosexual marriage, not because they believe it to be wrong, but because it is an expression of "colonial oppression".

That leaves the liberals in the unhappy position of having to decide who to oppress: their indigenous members or their LGBTQI members; normally, they take the easy way out and just oppress their conservative members, writes an orthodox Canadian Anglican blogger.

The Bible does offer some advice on all this, of course, but no-one in the ACoC seems particularly interested in reading it.

In the meantime, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Fred Hiltz, has weighed in on the issue, disputing that cultural difference is holding the issue back, saying there are many non-indigenous Bishops who are uncomfortable with homosexual marriage as well. Hiltz is for the whole idea, naturally, but now finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Of the 45 members of the House of Bishops in the Anglican Church of Canada, only four are indigenous. It is not known how many, or if there are any gay bishops in the ACoC. Clearly, many are for the idea and therein lies the problem.

Will anybody actually read and declare what Scripture has to say about sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman? Don't hold your breath.

END

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