Church of Ireland Faces Split Over Civil Partnership*Bennison to Close Parishes

VirtueOnline: The big news this week comes from Ireland. A Church of Ireland cleric’s civil partnership could lead to the all-island church splitting along north-south lines, one of its most influential evangelical members has warned. Dermot O’Callaghan, who is seen as the leading evangelical layman in the Church of Ireland, stressed that no one in the church wants a split, but also said that the implications of the Rev. Tom Gordon’s gay partnership could be “fundamental”.