A group of former Catholic priests backed gay marriage in Washington state Thursday in a challenge to bishops who have lobbied against same-sex nuptials ahead of a November ballot measure that could legalize such unions in the state.
The 63 former priests said they took their stand to counterbalance efforts of the Roman Catholic Church's leadership to defeat the Washington ballot initiative as a threat to religious liberty.
"We feel the bishops are abusing their power in attempting to direct Catholics on how to vote on this civil matter and impose their position on all citizens, Catholic and non-Catholic," the former priests said in a statement.
Washington state's Democratic-controlled legislature voted this year to legalize same-sex marriage and Governor Chris Gregoire, a Democrat and a Catholic, signed the measure into law in February.
But the law was blocked from taking effect when opponents submitted a petition to bring the matter before voters in November.
A number of Catholic churches in the state, at the urging of their bishops, participated in the signature drive last spring.
The former clergy's petition was organized by Patrick Callahan, who was a Catholic priest for 15 years and remains a Catholic churchgoer.
"Progressive-thinking Catholics need the reassurance that there is more than one authentic Catholic position," he told Reuters.
