MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Episcopal Church leaders have approved a landmark, local option resolution on the thorny issue of gay marriages.
The resolution, adopted Thursday night, says that local dioceses are within the bounds of the church when they allow the clergy to bless unions of gay or lesbian couples. It was greeted with dismay by church conservatives, the New York Times reported.
"What this says is that these blessings are within the embrace of God," said the Rev. Francis H. Wade, chairman of the committee that helped write the resolution.
His statement was intended to clear up the question of whether the resolution merely acknowledged that blessings of same-sex unions took place or actually affirmed the blessings' doctrinal soundness. Wade said the latter applied, while others disagreed.
Episcopal parishes around the country already perform such rites, and have for years, but the church leadership had never before taken an official stand on the question.
