The Catholic Church in Norway may stop performing civil weddings in a bid to distance itself from the Lutheran Church, which is now performing same-sex marriage
Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo (below), one of the country's top Catholic clerics, said the Church would ask the Vatican for permission to stop performing state weddings to avoid confusion and opposition against it in the future.
It's after the Lutheran Church in Norway voted overwhelmingly to recognise and begin performing same-sex marriages earlier this month. It rejected a similar proposal in 2014.
Lutheran clergy who don't want to perform same-sex marriages don't have to.
Bishop Eidsvig told the Catholic News Agency: "It's clear we must distinguish our own Church marriages from others.
"This is a matter of liturgy, so it doesn't necessarily reflect broader change in our society's moral values.
"But politicians may now get aggressive toward churches who resist these weddings, so the best option is for us to stop conducting marriages on the state's behalf.
Regarding the Lutheran Church's decision to begin performing same-sex marriages, he added: "My own reaction is one of sorrow and disappointment, and we can't foresee the longer-term consequences for inter-church contacts here."
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Article by Aaron James
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
