More Anglican breakaways in Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Three more Anglican parishes in Canada voted to break with the national church and join a more conservative organization, The Globe and Mail reported Monday.

At issue is the Anglican Church of Canada's willingness to support same-sex marriage. The weekend splits brought to 15 the number of Canadian parishes joining the conservative Southern Cone, based in South America, the report said.

Two of the parishes were in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the other was in St. Catharines, Ontario, the newspaper said.

Last week, the Niagara diocese in Ontario filed court papers challenging the breakaway groups on ownership of the churches and their assets. That case is to be heard in court Friday, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, some of the breakaway parishes could be setting themselves up for more problems, as some have female pastors, which the Southern Cone doesn't endorse, church officials said.