Ottawa diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada yesterday approved same-sex marriage blessings in

Synod backs gay rights
Toronto Star,  Canada -

The Ottawa diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada yesterday approved same-sex marriage blessings in a move sure to inflame a debate over gay rights that has pushed the communion to the brink of schism.

By a margin of 177 to 97, delegates to the diocese's annual synod in Cornwall approved a motion asking the local bishop to allow clergy "whose conscience permits" to bless same-sex unions.

Conservative church leaders immediately condemned the move.

"It goes to the very opposite direction to what the international church is calling for," retired Newfoundland bishop Donald Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada, told the Star.

The worldwide Anglican Communion has been bitterly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage blessings since the appointment of the openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2004.

The majority of Anglicans worldwide belong to conservative churches in developing countries, which have been pushing for a more orthodox approach to policy.

Harvey said yesterday's vote makes it more likely the Anglican Network will go ahead with a plan to join forces with several conservative U.S. Anglican groups trying to set up a new church along orthodox theological lines. The Anglican Network meets next month in Burlington to discuss the plan.

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