PITTSBURGH — The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh says its clergy may sign marriage certificates between same-sex couples.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Monday that the rule is spelled out in a recent letter from Bishop Dorsey McConnell.
McConnell has expressed reservations about the theology behind the church’s marriage rite, which the bishop approved for use in the diocese in November.
Get the Daily Brief
The news you care about, reported on by the people who care about you:
That was before a federal judge in central Pennsylvania in May struck down the state’s law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, effectively making same-sex marriage legal in the state.
Diocesan spokesman Rich Creehan says the latest move doesn’t mark a change in church teaching or the bishop’s position, but merely gives clergy who choose to marry same-sex couples the legal power to issue legally binding marriage certificates.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
