Posted on 10/26/2009 3:29:49 PM PDT by NYer
.- The Catholic and Orthodox Churches of Sweden have responded with sadness to the Swedish Lutheran Church General Synods decision to hold homosexual weddings in churches, saying the move departs from the Christian tradition and will widen the gap between the churches.
Fr. Fredrik Emanuelson, head of ecumenical efforts in the Swedish Catholic Church, joined Orthodox representative Fr. Misha Jaksic in a statement that said the churches learned of the Lutherans decision with sadness.
It is a swing away not only from Christian tradition but also from the point of view on the nature of marriage which is typical of all religions, they said, according to SIR News.
The Lutherans General Synod expresses a radically different vision from the way in which the Church and Christians understand marriage, they added.
The spokesmen said they were not surprised by the decision because it had been preceded by a long debate.
According to SIR, the church debate started at the beginning of 2009 after a Swedish law that granted civil marriage to homosexuals took effect.
None of us want to annul ecumenical dialogue with the Swedish church, the joint Catholic-Orthodox statement continued. However, this decision of the Church of Sweden widens the gap.
The statement concluded by saying that talks are more important than ever to fulfill Christs desire for Christian unity.
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian denomination in the Nordic country.
Ping!
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: If they make a mistake, I dont want them punished with a baby.
Liberalism is destroying the once great Protestant Churches one Church at a time.
Ping!
No surprise here, NYer.
“The statement concluded by saying that talks are more important than ever to fulfill Christs desire for Christian unity”
It’s very sad they don’t realize the unity of the Body of Christ is in The Word, which is Christ. There sinners are welcome to come and repent for Salvation. Sin is not overcome—it is not embraced, tolerated or celebrated.
They have really gone off the pike.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.