TORONTO — The Canadian Council of Churches announced it was unable to reach a consensus on legalization of same-sex marriage as the nation's Supreme Court held hearings on the issue.
The United Church of Canada told the Supreme Court it "unequivocally supports the rights of same-sex couples to have access to civil marriage" and equally, the right of religious groups to refuse to perform such ceremonies, Ecumenical News International reported.
But lawyers representing the Roman Catholic Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Islamic congregations and others testified that legalization could cause legal jeopardy for religions that teach against homosexual practices.