Gay clergy
in civil partnerships will be allowed to become bishops if they are sexually
abstinent, according to new policy
The Guardian, Peter Walker, Friday 4 January 2013
 |
| The Church of England's House of Bishops has said gay men in civil partnerships can join the episcopate. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/ Getty Images |
The Church
of England has agreed that gay clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops
so long as they remain sexually abstinent, a decision that looks likely to
reignite one of the Anglican community's most bitter internal debates.
The
decision was taken by the House of Bishops, the section of the General Synod
responsible for church teaching. Evangelical Anglicans immediately signalled
their opposition to the idea, leaving the church with the prospect of two
simultaneous internal rows following the synod's decision in November to blockwomen from becoming bishops.
A summary of the House of Bishops' meeting on the church's website said members
considered an interim report from a group led by Sir Joseph Pilling, a retired
civil servant commissioned last year to look into the church's attitudes to
sexuality.
While the
bishops said they would not issue more guidance on civil partnerships before
the final report, they said being in a civil partnership was not necessarily a
bar to becoming a bishop. The summary read: "[The House of Bishops]
confirmed that the requirements in the 2005 statement concerning the eligibility
for ordination of those in civil partnerships whose relationships are
consistent with the teaching of the Church of England apply equally in relation
to the episcopate."
The 2005 document gave guidance for clergy, for example if they were asked to bless
civil partnerships, which had come into being the previous year. It also stated
that the House of Bishops did not see being in a civil partnership as
"intrinsically incompatible with holy orders" provided those
concerned could give assurances the relationship was not sexually active, but
did not extend this to bishops.
The change
was welcomed by Jeffrey John, dean of St Albans, whose decision to stand down
from his appointment as bishop of Reading in July 2003 amid an outcry from
church conservatives sparked a near decade of frenzied debate. John is in a
long-term relationship with another clergyman, which he has affirmed is
celibate. The pair had a civil ceremony in 2006.
John said:
"If it is genuinely true that all levels of ordained ministry are now more
open to gay people than they were before, then this is a very good thing."
Shortly
after John stepped down as bishop of Reading, the issue became still more
contentious after the US Episcopal Church approved the appointment of the
openly gay Gene Robinson as a bishop.
There has
been speculation that bishops eventually felt under pressure to move owing to
the possibility of John taking legal action on equalities grounds after he was
passed over to become bishop of Southwark in 2010.
The
decision was made in mid-December, with a summary of the meeting placed on the
church website before Christmas. However, the key section was some way down the
summary and was missed until now. A church spokesman said there had been no
intention of burying the news.
Speaking on
behalf of the House of Bishops, Graham James, the bishop of Norwich, confirmed
the change. He said: "The house believed it would be unjust to exclude
from consideration for the episcopate anyone seeking to live fully in
conformity with the church's teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of
personal life and discipline.
"All
candidates for the episcopate undergo a searching examination of personal and
family circumstances, given the level of public scrutiny associated with being
a bishop in the Church of England. But these, along with the candidate's
suitability for any particular role for which he is being considered, are for
those responsible for the selection process to consider in each case."
The Rev
Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude, a group that campaigns for the
church to fully accept gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said he
gave the news a guarded welcome, in that it was significant but unlikely to
prompt a rush of gay bishops.
He said:
"I don't trust what they have said. I don't believe they are serious about
opening the door to someone in a civil partnership becoming a bishop. I would
only believe they are serious when it happens." Apart from John, Coward
said, it was difficult to see any gay clergy being made bishops. "In
effect this imposes something more strict on those who become bishops than
those who become clergy. In practice at least half of the House of Bishops
ignore the guidelines and do not ask clergy questions about celibacy, and many
of them consciously put in place people in civil partnerships with the partner
present and acknowledged as a partner. I can't see that happening to someone
who's becoming a bishop."
Rod Thomas,
chairman of Reform, a campaign group for Anglican evangelicals, said the change
had not been agreed by the wider church. He told the BBC: "That would be a
major change in church doctrine and therefore not something that can be slipped
out in the news. It is something that has got to be considered by the General
Synod."
Giles
Fraser, the former canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral who contributes tothe Guardian on faith matters, said the row over John in 2003 had ignited years
of "culture wars" in the church.
He said:
"This new ruling is an acknowledgement that there was no theological basis
for this objection. But, pathetically, it comes 10 years too late." The
continued insistence on celibacy remained wrong, he argued. "Celibacy is
fine as a vocation, if chosen, but it is manifestly cruel to ban a human being
from physical intimacy simply because they are gay."
Related Articles:
Mixed response to CofE decision to allow gay bishops
First Gay Anglican Bishop Reflects on Tenure in NH
Mixed response to CofE decision to allow gay bishops
First Gay Anglican Bishop Reflects on Tenure in NH
 |
| In this photo taken Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 in Concord, N.H., the world's first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, poses for a photo at the Episcopal Dioceseof New Hampshire. He retires from his post Jan. 5, 2013 Photo: Jim Cole / AP |
Footballer in gay magazine: it's time to tackle the last taboo
 |
| Footballer Matt Jarvis on the cover of this month's Attitude magazine. Photograph: Attitude |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.