Danish bishops have bowed to pressure and put forward a new marriage liturgy for homosexuals in response to new gay rights legislation passed by the Danish parliament, reports Seven59.dk and b.dk.<\/p>\n
The ritual allows same gender couples the right to get married in church. Mr Sareen called the specially designed ritual for same-gender couples \u2018touching\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt\u2019s been a difficult issue but the bishops have come up with the correct solution and it\u2019s something we can all be proud of,\u00ab he said.<\/p>\n
\u00bbCity Hall marriages have only acknowledged \u2018registered partnerships\u2019 but this new ceremony reflects something else \u2013 love between two people.\u00ab <\/p>\n
Before the gay legislation was passed, four out of ten bishops refused to accept marriage between homosexuals, but have now accepted the use of \u2018married couple\u2019, although not husband and wife.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe law\u2019s been passed so there\u2019s not much we can do about it,\u00ab said Bishop of Aarhus Kjeld Holm. \u00bbWe could have refused to abide by it, but the consequences are impossible to work out. The Minister could have come up with his own wedding ceremony for gays, which he has the authority to\u00ab.<\/p>\n
Mr Sareen said the willingness of bishops who were originally opposed to the legislation to draft a new wedding ritual for gays reflects the \u2018inclusiveness\u2019 of the Danish National Church. <\/p>\n
The Danish National Church had previously rejected giving full equality to homosexuals. A parliamentary decision last week in favour of gay marriage was called by Minister for Gender Equality Manu Sareen \u00bbthe biggest thing that\u2019s happened to the church since female priests\u00ab.<\/p>\n
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