A new case may be brought against the Rev. Janet Edwards, the Presbyterian minister who was taken to church court for marrying a lesbian couple only to have the charges dropped because the court found they were filed four days late.
The Rev. James Yearsley, who filed the complaint against her last year, is gathering the signatures of ministers and elders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who want to join him in pursuing the case. It would not be double jeopardy since she was never tried, he said.
"I'm still accumulating names. This means that the whole process starts over," said Mr. Yearsley.
***
För en månad sedan bloggade jag om Janet Edwards. Hon är en presbyteriansk pastor i Pittsburgh, som drogs inför en kyrklig domstol för att hon hade vigt ett lesbiskt par (mer om detta här: http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050720111709968). Domstolen frikände henne p.g.a. en teknikalitet. http://karlafhallstrom.blogspot.com/2006/11/nyhet-homovigande-prst-infr-rtta.html
Nu kommer hon antagligen att på nytt hamna inför rätta. En av hennes kolleger har vänligt nog samlat ihop namn för att åstadkomma detta. Så rapporterar Pittsburgh Post-Gazette idag. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06343/744827-85.stm
Bloggaren Jerry S. Maneker är mycket upprörd över detta. http://christianlgbtrights.blogspot.com/2006/12/maybe-its-function-of-my-age-but.html
"It's time to flee these toxic institutions! Just because they call themselves "churches" doesn't necessarily make them God's instruments of grace in this world! […]
"Grace" means unmerited favor! It means being a vehicle for comfort and teaching that keeps God on the front burner of people's lives. The fight for LGBT equality has brought out the true nature of most of these institutions and those who feel comfortable within their structures, and it isn't pretty! So I advise people to flee these oppressive structures that are frequently soul-destroying, and act as agents of reactionary politicos and forces in society and, abominably, do so in the name of God, our God of grace!"
Jag vet inte om jag vill gå så långt som han i detta, men jag kan förstå hans känslor.
