Retired Toronto
bishop disciplined
for performing
same-sex marriage
By: Marites N. Sison,
episcopalchurch.org from the Web, October 1, 2006
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The Most
Rev. Terence E. Finlay |
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Toronto, Canada -- Archbishop
Terence Finlay, retired bishop of the Anglican diocese of Toronto and
metropolitan (senior bishop) of Ontario, has acknowledged he officiated at a
same-sex marriage of a lesbian couple in a United Church in Toronto and has
expressed the hope that Anglicans would "reflect on this with understanding."
"Yes, I did participate in a marriage of two dear friends who happen to be gay.
One of whom, I have known for many, many years," said Finlay, when asked by the
Anglican Journal to confirm reports about his involvement in the ceremony that
took place over the summer. "The couple I married are very close friends
of our family. I've known one since she was a small child; her father was
one of my theological professors and he was an honorary assistant in one of my
parishes and over the years, our families have remained very close."
It was out of a "long journey of love, friendship, support and familial
relationship with this particular person and her partner" that Finlay said he
"came to the conclusion that their love for one another was part of God's divine
love and it was appropriate that that be deeply blessed."
Finlay, who made headlines in the early 1990s for firing a priest for
maintaining a homosexual relationship, has said in recent years that he has
reached a new place in his understanding of homosexuality. He said he was
not trying to make a statement or encourage other clergy to defy the church's
marriage canon, which allows the sacrament for a man and a woman only.
"I'll be quite clear that it wasn't done as a publicity stunt to make waves.
I married two people who love each other deeply; they care about the church and
I believe their commitment has been blessed by God," he said.
The archbishop, who retired in 2004, said that as a consequence of his action,
he has been "admonished" and has had his license to officiate at marriages
suspended by Bishop Colin Johnson of Toronto. Johnson could not be reached
for comment.
In a memo issued September 1 to clergy of the diocese and obtained by the
Anglican Journal, Johnson did not name Finlay as the cleric who presided at a
same-sex marriage during the summer. He stated that he had "reprimanded
him in writing, admonished him not to do so again, and suspended his license to
officiate at marriages until the end of 2006."
The act of presiding at a same-sex marriage breached Canon XXI of General Synod,
On Marriage in the Church, wrote Johnson.
"Same-sex marriages are not authorized at this time in the Diocese of Toronto
and I do not condone diocesan clergy officiating at such marriages, whether in
the Anglican church or elsewhere," he said. "While there is considerable
debate and indeed discord within the diocese and across the Anglican Communion
about whether an individual diocese (or even parish) might have authority to
authorize the blessing of same-sex unions, the matter of marriage falls clearly
under the jurisdiction of the General Synod canons in the Anglican Church of
Canada."
The Anglican Church of Canada's governing body, General Synod, will meet in June
2007 to decide, among others, on the issue of same-sex blessings.
The bishop also reminded clergy that "our oaths as ordained persons (i.e. people
under Orders) require all of us to uphold the discipline of the canons, even if
some of us feel called to work to amend or repeal them."
Johnson, who had served as Archbishop Finlay's executive assistant for 11 years
prior to being elected as his successor in 2004, wrote that he was "very
disappointed" that he had to admonish and discipline the unnamed cleric and
expressed "trust that it will not be necessary to do so again."
Finlay said he understood Johnson's actions. "He was quite right to call
me on the carpet and to admonish me. I officiated at the wedding of a
same-sex couple even though the wedding took place in a United Church and the
United Church minister signed the license."
While he does not regret having presided at the same-sex wedding, Finlay said he
regrets "any pain or embarrassment I caused him [Bishop Johnson]. I'm very aware
of the difficulties of decisions, the decisions that a diocesan bishop faces and
that certainly was part of my thoughts and prayers."
In 2003, while he was diocesan bishop, Finlay admonished a priest in his diocese
for performing a same-sex blessing without his consent.
Finlay declined to comment on what impact his action would have on the Rev. Jim
Ferry, the Toronto priest he fired in 1992 for maintaining a homosexual
relationship. Ferry, then parish priest of St. Philip's, in Unionville, Ontario,
had revealed his homosexual relationship to Finlay, who later asked him to
resign his post. When Ferry refused, Finlay fired him and placed him under
inhibition, banning him from exercising his priesthood anywhere in the Anglican
Communion. A Bishop's Court later upheld Ferry's dismissal after a trial
that generated local and international media coverage.
"Life in the church was very different in those days," said Finlay. "All I
can say is that I recently spoke at a gathering, and at that time I said one of
my deep regrets was that although I tried to find ways to restore the license to
Jim and to Joyce (Barnett) and Alison (Kemper), I wasn't able to do it."
Barnett and Kemper, both Anglican deacons, were married in civil rites in 2003.
The Rev. Sara Boyles, parish priest of Toronto's Holy Trinity Church,
subsequently blessed their union and, later, was publicly admonished by Finlay
for not respecting his refusal to give permission to perform the same-sex
blessing.
Finlay also said he had reflected about how his action relates to the Canadian
church. "I think our church has waited a long time and has discussed this
issue over and over and in this particular situation, time just run out for me.
It's no secret that for many years now I've been in favor of the local option
(allowing individual dioceses to decide whether to allow same-sex blessings) and
I tried to encourage the church to look at that as a way of addressing the way
[in] which the whole sexuality issue has deeply divided some people," he said.
"As an active bishop I've followed and I've upheld the oaths of the office that
I took and particularly around the issue of unity in the church. But for me now,
this issue has moved from one of unity to one of justice."
Finlay expressed the hope that Anglicans across the country would "reflect on
this [his action] with understanding..."
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