Sask. priest cut from church for performing gay marriages
CanWest News Service;
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Saturday, March 10, 2007

SASKATOON -- A Saskatoon Anglican priest is losing his licence to minister because he refuses to abide by a church policy prohibiting priests from performing gay marriages.

Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck said his conscience does not allow him to discriminate against same-sex couples who have asked him to bless their marriages.

"I felt unable to say no to those requests," he said in an interview. "That goes against everything else I'm about in my ministry and everything else that the church stands for."

Bishop Rodney Andrews cancelled Sanford Beck's licence in January and issued a temporary licence that expires at the end of March.

In a statement Friday, Andrews said he is unable to give Sanford Beck permission to perform same-sex marriages and has encouraged him to reconsider. the rest