Some Washington state churches in split over gay marriage [View all]

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Some Washington state churches in split over gay marriage

By Nicole Neroulias

SEATTLE | Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:08pm EDT

(Reuters) - A handful of Roman Catholic churches in Washington state, whose Catholic governor signed a law allowing gay marriage earlier this year, have refused to circulate a petition endorsed by their archbishop to repeal the law, congregation leaders said.

Opponents of same-sex marriage, due to go into effect this summer in the state, have been rallying conservative religious leaders to gather the 120,577 signatures they need by June 6 to secure a spot on the November 2012 ballot for their repeal push.

A bulletin from Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, who testified against the gay marriage bill, and the Washington State Catholic Conference has asked parishes to participate in the signature-gathering effort and "do everything you can to uphold the traditional definition of marriage in our state."

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

But the archdiocese technically left it up to congregation leaders to decide whether to directly collect signatures, and seven Seattle-area parishes have opted against it. The petitions were expected to begin circulating in many churches on Sunday.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/14/us-usa-gaymarriage-washington-idUSBRE83D0G220120414