Aussies okay gay ministers

Melbourne
The Uniting Church Assembly, meeting in Melbourne, voted in July to permit the church’s presbyteries to accept and ordain practising homosexuals. The majority of the 260 delegates voted in support of the proposal. Those who opposed the move warned the church could split over the issue. The Uniting church already has practising gay and lesbian ministers but the recent vote means the practice will now be openly accepted. Bishop Peter Tasker, Anglican bishop of Liverpool in the diocese of Sydney, expressed concern over the decision, saying, “It is painful to us now to have to point out to the Uniting church that today’s decisions raises important questions for biblically-minded Anglicans, such as those in our diocese, over the future recognition of the ministries of any Uniting church ministers who are partners in a homosexual relationship.”