In an unprecedented move, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has issued a public denouncement of a former seminarian for having a wedding service with his partner, according to UCA News.
John Rey Lasap, who has not been a seminarian for several years, and his partner, Kirt Lester Ebrada, had a wedding ceremony in August. Lasap is the first known person in the Philippines, which still does not legally allow same-gender civil marriage, to have spent time in a seminary before having a wedding ceremony with a same-gender partner. The wedding was officiated by the LGBT Christian Church, a Protestant denomination based in the Albay province. Despite the union not occurring in a Catholic church–and not involving any current member of the clergy–the bishops’ conference publicly commented on Lasap’s marriage: “‘Marriage is not only a relationship among people. It is a divine institution. It has a divine plan, that is, for building family life–to have kids. God willed that marriage is between a man and a woman.’”