(ChurchLeaders) Starting on September 1, 2020, clergy in Northern Ireland can officiate same-sex weddings, if they so choose. They can also choose not to officiate such weddings, per the recently enacted Marriage and Civil Partnership (Northern Ireland) Regulations.
“In line with our calls, we are pleased that the law will protect religious freedom, and that churches will neither be compelled nor prevented from offering wedding ceremonies to same-sex couples,” Patrick Corrigan, director of Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland branch and part of the Love Equality Coalition, wrote in a statement.