Church of England bishops refe to back gay marriage | Anglinism | The Guardian

Contents:

• C OF E MT WELE GAY PEOPLE OR FACE QUTNS PARLIAMENT, SAYS MP
• THE C OF E IS RIGHT TO PREVARITE ON GAY MARRIAGE
• GAY MARRIAGE
• CHURCH OF ENGLAND BISHOPS REFE TO BACK GAY MARRIAGE

C OF E MT WELE GAY PEOPLE OR FACE QUTNS PARLIAMENT, SAYS MP

The overwhelmg view of MPs on both sis of the hoe is that is not staable for our tablished church to be stutnally homophobic and to actively exclu a portn of the populatn, whom they have a duty to serve. “I believe God has lled me to wns to beg a Christian who happens to be gay. But I nnot ntue to endorse stutnal homophobia.

The Church of England mt move swiftly to wele lbian and gay people and embrace same-sex marriage or face mountg qutns parliament about s role as the tablished church of the untry, a senr MP has church was “actively pursug a mpaign of discrimatn” agast lbian and gay people that was patible wh s role as a church for England, said Ben Bradshaw, the Labour MP for Exeter and a former secretary of state for culture, media and was prompted to speak out after the C of E barred the late archbishop Dmond Tutu’s dghter, an ordaed Anglin prit, om officiatg at her godfather’s funeral last month bee she is a same-sex Tutu van Furth was forced to hold the funeral service a marquee next to St Michael and All Angels church Wentnor, Shropshire. But celty like that is practised on lbian and gay people the church all the time, every day – people you never hear about the headl, people whose liv are stroyed – and n’t go on, ” said C of E “enjoys extraordary and unique privileg s role the natn’s life”, he said, cg the 26 seats the Hoe of Lords rerved for Anglin bishops. It’s creasgly obv that the C of E is not there for lbian and gay people.

THE C OF E IS RIGHT TO PREVARITE ON GAY MARRIAGE

And not only that, but is actively homophobic, cel, hurtful and stutnally hostile. The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw had requted an urgent qutn on the Church of England’s latt prevaritn on homosexualy. Ahead of next month’s synod, the bishops have cid that gay marriage will not be up for discsn, even though a full bate was expected after six years of nsultatn.

Their se is weakened by the fact that parliament promised, ten years ago this week, that relig groups would not be erced to performg gay marriag. Bee the distctn is difficult to monor, nservativ are probably right to see as the begng of a slippery slope to the straightforward blsg of gay unns.

GAY MARRIAGE

It seems that the bishops want to end the le that gay clergy mt be celibate. This le has been place sce 1991, and was reaffirmed 2014, when gay clergy were permted to enter to civil partnerships if they promised to rema celibate. Now that all the emphasis is on the full acceptance of homosexuals the Church, this le is beg dropped the long grass.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND BISHOPS REFE TO BACK GAY MARRIAGE

In effect, takg a nservative le on gay marriage allows the Church to be reformist on the issue that ed to be central before 2014: the ordatn of homosexuals. Though a liberal Anglin, I have been reluctant to unter the assertn that homosexualy is sful wh a fulsome affirmatn of gay rights.

I suppose I have been wary of homosexualy for two reasons.

Y, ’s unfair to suggt that this is trsic to homosexualy, but stereotyp n’t really be avoid if we are to discs any cultural phenomenon. Also, I have felt wary of homosexualy’s associatn wh moral righteons and spirual pth. I n see that this is a natural rponse to beg margalised and spised, but I still felt wary of gay rights as an alternative evangelism.