World Vision drops policy of hiring Christians in same-sex marriages
Christian relief agency says it won't hire people in gay marriages days after it said it would
Facing a firestorm of protest, the prominent Christian relief agency World Vision has dropped a two-day old policy that would have allowed the charity to hire Christians in same-sex marriages.
The aid group told supporters in a letter on Wednesday that the board had made a mistake and was returning to its policy requiring celibacy outside of marriage "and faithfulness within the Bible covenant of marriage between a man and a woman".
"We have listened to you and want to say thank you and to humbly ask for your forgiveness," the agency said in the letter, signed by World Vision president Richard Stearns and board chairman Jim Bere.
Based in Federal Way, Washington state, and started by evangelicals, World Vision has an international operating budget of nearly US$1 billion and conducts economic development and emergency relief projects. In a conference call with reporters, Stearns said World Vision had not consulted enough with its partners before announcing the initial policy change. Since Monday, Stearns said the board had heard from major evangelical groups and leaders who had told them they had strayed from their core beliefs.
"We shouldn't have been surprised but we were a bit," Stearns said of the backlash. "Again, I think it goes back to we hadn't done enough consultation on this. We hadn't vetted this issue with people who could have given us really valuable input in the beginning. In retrospect, I can see why this was so controversial and troubling for many of our partners and supporters."
The agency had announced on Monday that its board had prayed for years about whether to hire Christians in same-sex marriages as churches took different stands on recognising gay relationships. World Vision says its staff members come from dozens of denominations with varied views on the issue. The board had said World Vision would still require celibacy outside of marriage and would require employees to affirm a statement of faith that they follow Christ, but would change policy in the US as a way to avoid the divisive debates that have torn apart churches.