During the roughly 45 minutes of debate before today's historic same sex marriage vote by the D.C. Council, Phil Mendelson (D-At large) noted that the city had not yet been able to find "mutually agreeable language" to come to an agreement with the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington over the issue. Since the bill was first introduced, the archdiocese has repeatedly threatened that its local social services operations through its Catholic Charities organization might be endangered should the bill pass. more ›

If the Archdiocese of Washington thought it was under pressure as a consequence of its strong stance during the D.C. same-sex marriage debate, it may have something else coming. more ›

With a D.C. Council vote on same-sex marriage just over a week away, a compromise proposed to assuage concerns expressed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington remains uncertain. more ›

As expected, Bishop Harry Jackson filed his petition with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics today to request a ballot initiative on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District. It's a move designed to preempt legislative action from the D.C. Council on the issue later this year (At-large councilmember David Catania has promised to introduce such a bill this fall), with Jackson betting on a redux of California's Prop 8. Perhaps more surprising, however, is that the Archdiocese of Washington has also gotten involved in the movement, although without officially joining Jackson's Stand4MarriageDC coalition. The Post reports that Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl also submitted a letter to the elections board today calling for a referendum. Via Tim Craig:

"It is ironic that at the same time the city is asking for voting representation in the U.S. Congress, its leaders are denying residents the opportunity to participate in the Democratic process for an issue with widespread implications for children and families," Ronald Jackson, executive director of the D.C. Catholic Conference, said in a statement.