Evangelicals threaten to 'ruin' C of E over gay canon
By Elizabeth Day
(Evangelical Anglican churches are threatening the Church of England with financial ruin in protest at the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John, a homosexual, as the Dean of St Albans Cathedral.

Several parish churches in the Diocese of St Albans are planning to cap their financial quota contributions after Dr John's elevation, accusing the Church of pursuing "a homosexual agenda".

Their move could leave the diocese several thousand pounds out of pocket. It relies on the "parish share" to provide more than £7 million annually to pay for stipends, pensions and some administrative costs.

Each parish is given a "quota" that it is expected to pay to the diocese every year, depending on the number of its parishioners. If it raises more money than its allotted quota, this too goes to the diocese - and it is this contribution that the evangelical churches are threatening to cap.


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Romney Won't Let Gay Outsiders Wed in Massachusetts
By PAM BELLUCK
BOSTON, April 24 — Same-sex couples who live outside Massachusetts will not be able to marry in Massachusetts when gay marriage becomes legal here next month, Gov. Mitt Romney said.

"Massachusetts should not become the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage," Mr. Romney said in an interview on Friday. "We do not intend to export our marriage confusion to the entire nation."


The governor's decision could mean disappointment for thousands of couples from all over the country who had planned to marry when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage.

Mr. Romney said he was basing his decision on a 48-word law, adopted in 1913, which says that the state cannot marry an out-of-state couple if their marriage would be "void" in their home state. He says he plans to enforce his interpretation of the law by rewriting the application forms necessary for a marriage license, requiring evidence, for example, of where a couple lives or plans to live.