Gay bishop’s civil partnership postponed
Northern Ireland Bishop Pat Buckley has postponed his civil partnership after his fiance got “stressed out” with the media attention.
Bishop Buckley, who is not officially a bishop, announced his plans to wed chef Eduardo Yango earlier this month.
The pair were set to tie the knot yesterday but the ceremony reportedly descended into chaos when Mr Yango became publicity-shy.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that around half a dozen journalists and photographers gathered outside Larne Borough Council’s offices but as the scheduled time for the ceremony passed, the happy couple did not materialise.
Instead, a receptionist came outside to tell the small crowd the ceremony was off.
Bishop Buckley later told reporters: “Eduardo has found the last ten to 14 days really overwhelming. We decided that we’d postpone things on Sunday night because he is totally and utterly stressed out.”
Mr Yango, who is from the Philippines, had been shocked to see so many global news headlines about himself, the bishop said.
Bishop Buckley added: “Culturally speaking, the Philippines is where Ireland was 30 or 40 years ago. So from a cultural, religious and stress point of view, he’s just been finding things very difficult.”
But he said that the civil partnership would take place soon.
Bishop Buckley was ordained as a Catholic diocesan priest in 1976. He set up an independent ministry in 1986 and was subsequently excommunicated when he was ordained as an episcopal bishop in 1998.
He now offers wedding ceremonies for divorcees and mixed-religion couples along with blessings for gays and lesbians, styling himself as an “unofficial chaplain to disaffected and alienated Catholics and Christians”.
