UMC high court upholds core of ‘Traditional Plan’ on LGBT issues
The United Methodist Church’s highest court has partially upheld a measure passed by a special session of General Conference that would provide stricter enforcement of the denomination’s rules against homosexuality and gay marriage.
In a decision made public on Friday, the United Methodist Judicial Council ruled that the “Traditional Plan” approved earlier this year at the special session has parts that violate the denomination’s constitution.
Known as Judicial Council Decision 1378, the ruling refused to strike down the entire Traditional Plan, noting that the petitions within it that were unconstitutional “can be severed from the remainder.”...