Swedish Church approves gay blessings
Homosexual couples will be able to have their registered partnership blessed in a special ceremony in the Swedish Church.
The decision follows a vote by the Church Assembly, the highest body of authority in the Swedish Church, on Thursday.
The result, which saw 160 vote for the change, and 81 vote against, was not unexpected, since a Church Assembly committee had already declared its support for the move.
Gay marriage received another boost on Thursday with the news that from the spring of next year civil registrars may not be able to refuse to conduct partnership ceremonies for homosexual couples.
Currently, civil registrars may refuse gay partnership ceremonies and one fifth of Stockholm district's 256 registrars are not registered to perform them.
But that will change if a new law comes into force as planned by the government on April 1st, reported Dagens Nyhter.
"Those who refuse will lose their authorisation to perform wedding ceremonies," said Niklas Ljunggren, legal adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
The Local/TT
Comments
See Also
The decision follows a vote by the Church Assembly, the highest body of authority in the Swedish Church, on Thursday.
The result, which saw 160 vote for the change, and 81 vote against, was not unexpected, since a Church Assembly committee had already declared its support for the move.
Gay marriage received another boost on Thursday with the news that from the spring of next year civil registrars may not be able to refuse to conduct partnership ceremonies for homosexual couples.
Currently, civil registrars may refuse gay partnership ceremonies and one fifth of Stockholm district's 256 registrars are not registered to perform them.
But that will change if a new law comes into force as planned by the government on April 1st, reported Dagens Nyhter.
"Those who refuse will lose their authorisation to perform wedding ceremonies," said Niklas Ljunggren, legal adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
The Local/TT
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.