CONTROVERSIAL proposals intended to promote greater acceptance of gay clergy in the Church of Scotland could instead end up making their appointments tougher.
Critics within the Kirk fear the move could be a missed opportunity and a barrier to progress.
According to the draft act, or overture, which has been drawn up by Kirk lawyers, a kirk session would need to secure a two-thirds majority in two separate votes on the principle of appointing a gay minister.
If these hurdles were overcome, the congregation would then decide on a new minister.
At present, a simple majority of 51% is required in order to appoint a new minister.
The proposal to make it a two-thirds majority is based on the view that a congregation could be more unsettled and divided after a vote if success were founded on a narrow margin, for instance 16 votes to 15.
The proposal by the Legal Questions Committee Overture is one of the most significant steps towards enshrining the right of congregations to allow gay clergy since the row broke out in 2009 over the appointment of openly gay Rev Scott Rennie to an Aberdeen Church.
But one liberal minister said yesterday: "It will only be a step forward if it is done properly."
The pro-gay clergy minister said: "The majority of decisions in the Kirk are simply a majority and I don't see why this should be any different.
"If a decision has been made, there is absolutely no need for a second vote."
However, some traditionalists within the Kirk said the issue of gay clergy was far from decided and one said the process of allowing for "reflection on a decision" was standard.
Kirk lawyers believe if legislation is passed in the Scottish Parliament to make same-sex marriages legal, the rules on deciding for or against gay ministers at parish level would be the same as for its civil partnership proposals.
The Kirk says the new rule should apply equally to ministers and deacons who enter into a same-sex marriage and also those who enter into civil partnerships or same-sex marriages in jurisdictions outwith Scotland.
The overture reads: "As from the date of this Act, a Kirk Session may decide to depart from the Church's historic and current doctrine and practice in order to permit the induction, ordination or appointment of a minister or a deacon who is in a civil partnership or the ordination and appointment of an Ordained."
Kirk members are being asked for their views before December 16.
The proposal will be finalised ahead of next year's General Assembly in May - when it could be rejected.
It is understood that if a congregation establishes the principle of acceptance of a minister in a same-sex relationship by a two-thirds majority, they would then go back to the practice of requiring a simple majority for the actual choice of minister.
A Kirk statement on the principles of the overture would not require the Church to abandon its traditional stance, but would allow individual congregations to depart from the Church's traditional position.
It would also allow ministers and deacons, current and prospective, who are in civil partnerships, to be selected for training and to be trained, preserve liberty of opinion and responsible expression and not permit harassing or bullying.
It read: "If the overture is approved by the General Assembly, it will be sent down to Presbyteries for consideration under the Barrier Act procedure before returning to the 2015 Assembly.
"At this stage in the process, the Legal Questions Committee is publishing the draft overture and seeks comments from interested parties from within the Church of Scotland upon its practical application, should it become the law of the Church."
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