Vicar defends Church of England same-sex blessings ban

From this Saturday gay and lesbian couples in England and Wales will be able to get married in a civil ceremony.

A London vicar, Rev Andrew Cain, has said he will continue to bless same sex unions as he always has, thereby directly contravening guidance by the Church of England.

But Rev Steven Hanna, of St Elisabeth's Church, Dagenham, says: "As a clergyman in the Church of England, I don't think it right that we should be disobeying them. I see it as inconsistent that a clergyman can choose to bless something that God himself has not blessed."