Marriages

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams suggested Monday that the Episcopal Church might have to accept a different role within the worldwide Anglican Communion amid U.S. leaders' decision to lift a de facto ban on gay bishops and to consider rites of blessing for same-sex unions. Williams outlined his concerns in a statement to leaders throughout the communion, saying "very serious anxieties have already been expressed" among the 77 million Anglicans. The Episcopal Church, the U.S.

For many couples, the financial crisis has come down to a test. How good are they at tackling tough money issues? The question for Lorne Epstein is this: business or pleasure? His wife, Alicia Korten, planned to take about a month off to recharge after more than a year of 80-hour workweeks at the consulting firm ReNual while writing a book called "Change Philanthropy." Joining her on the trip would cost him about $2,000.

A bronze marker engraved with a quote from Nelson Mandela will be placed at a park in West Hollywood where some of the first same-sex marriages in California were performed. The City Council plans to unveil the rectangular plaque at its Sept. 8 meeting before permanently installing it at West Hollywood Park off North San Vicente Boulevard, a site which was full of pride June 17, 2008, when same-sex couples could legally marry for the first time in California. "It happened on a single day but it went on for months," said Jeffrey Prang, the West Hollywood councilman who thought of the plaque.

The Obama administration scored a victory of sorts in federal court Monday when a judge threw out an Orange County gay couple's lawsuit claiming that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Just last week a top Justice Department lawyer sought the dismissal of the lawsuit on grounds that the couple, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo, had failed to identify any personal harm suffered because of the 1996 law, which bars the federal government from treating same-sex marriages as legal or granting federal benefits to same-sex spouses.

Media day, a routine event elsewhere, went as usual in Lakerdom, where it's more like a tour of an asylum to see who's new and what the long-term residents are up to. How many defending champions acquire Ron Artest in the off-season, and see him eclipsed by the first day he puts on a uniform by the wedding of the year? Unfortunately, for those eager to hear about the Lamar Odom-Khloe Kardashian nuptials, they were off the record. Kardashian's producers have embargoed all discussion of the wedding -- until the episode airs on her reality show . . . in three months.

The legions of followers stood in rapt attention today -- men in black tuxedos and red ties, women in white lace and veils -- for the largest mass wedding in a decade performed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the powerful and often controversial Unification Church. In all, church officials claim, some 40,000 men and women either took their vows or renewed them in a global mega-ceremony that seemed equal parts lavish spectacle, religious ritual and, for many skeptics, just plain kitsch.

A small majority of California voters supports the right of same-sex couples to marry, but by a much larger margin, voters oppose efforts to place the issue back on the ballot next year, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll has found. Views on same-sex marriage were sharply polarized, with 66% of Democrats backing it, and 71% of Republicans in opposition. Nonpartisan voters were less enthusiastic than Democrats but still backed it, 59% to 34%. Overall, 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for gay couples, and 43% were opposed.

One night he came home covered with blood. "What happened?" she asked, looking up from her textbook, aghast at the red splashes on his hands, shirt and face. "Nothing," he said, before ducking into the bathroom. "I was helping some of the wounded." She believed him. She had to. He was her husband, the man she loved. Besides, she knew the rules of the Basiji, the hard-line Iranian militia he belonged to: An order was an order, and if that meant cracking the heads of some demonstrators during the unrest this summer, so be it. She knew, because she belonged to the Basiji elite herself.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it would be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District of Columbia if the city refused to change a proposed same-sex marriage law. The threat could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and healthcare. Under the legislation, which the City Council is expected to pass next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings.

Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria and her former personal trainer Daniel Westling told the world they are engaged to be married, seven years after they met at the gym. "It was a friendship that grew and became love," a beaming Victoria said. The 31-year-old princess is first in line to the throne, which is a ceremonial post. Westling, 35, will be known as Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland.