Iceland review - 2007, Page 13

ICELAND REVIEW 11
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Energy for life through forces of nature
Church of Iceland Able to Register
Same-Sex Partnerships
Attendees at Iceland’s national ecclesiastical coun­
cil agreed October 24 to permit priests to register
same­sex unions provided the law on registered
partnerships is amended so that religious associa­
t ions have the authority do to so.
The debate involved the definition of marriage
and whether marriage was a holy union between
any two individuals or only two individuals of the
opposite sex. It was agreed that the traditional defini­
tion of marriage would not be changed but that
same­sex couples could have their unions legally
registered by the church.
Karl Sigurbjörnsson, Iceland’s Bishop, said no
church has previously taken this step and that he
was pleased with the outcome, ruv.is reported Octo­
ber 25. Sigurbjörnsson also said those who had dis­
a greed on the issue had compromised to reach the
decis ion made during the council.

Iceland’s President Called Before
US Senate
President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson stood
as a witness before the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the US Senate on September 26
to answer questions about Iceland’s experience with
geothermal energy.
Grímsson told the senators that Iceland and the
US could cooperate more in the field of energy,
especially with regard to geothermal and deep
drilling, and recommended the US harness geo­
thermal energy because it would act as a “magnet”
for companies like Microsoft, which are increas­
ingly looking for long­term access to clean energy
sources for their operations, RÚV reported Sept em ­
ber 26. Grímsson also submitted a written report
on energy issues, which was created in cooper­
ation with a number of Icelandic experts and insti­
tutions, Bladid reported September 27.
Views of Iceland | IR 4.07 | Vol. 45