Ecumenical punch up narrowly avoided

A potentially bench-clearing brawl was avoided through careful diplomacy:

A soccer game bringing Muslim imams and Christian priests "shoulder to shoulder" on a field in Norway was cancelled Saturday because the teams could not agree on whether women priests should take part. [. . .]

But when the church decided to drop its female players, the priest team captain walked out in protest.

Just hours before Saturday's scheduled game, the church released a statement saying it had called it off because it was sending the wrong signal.

"We realize now that it will be wrong to have a priest team without women. . . . The reactions we have had today shows us that this is being interpreted as a gender-political issue. This is why we cannot go through with the soccer match."