Former Presiding Bishop of the ELCA Confronts His Catholic Peers about Gay Marriage

Herbert Chilstrom is the retired presiding bishop of the ELCA, and before that he was a bishop in Minnesota.  In his work, he developed strong ties with the Catholic bishops of Minnesota, a group that is currently fighting to constitutionalize a prohibition of same sex marriage.  And Chilstrom doesn’t get it:

Over my 35 years as an active and retired bishop I have come to know hundreds of gay and lesbian persons. I have yet to meet even one who is opposed to the marriage of one man and one woman. After all, they are the daughters and sons of such unions.

What they cannot understand is why church leaders would oppose their fundamental desire and right to be in partnership with someone they love and respect who happens to be of the same gender and sexual orientation. They don’t understand why they should not enjoy all the rights and privileges their straight counterparts take for granted.

Read the rest: Lutheran leader confronts state’s Catholic bishops over gay marriage | StarTribune.com.