The first openly gay bishop is a huge step forward – but ’s not enough | Vicky Beechg | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE FIRST OPENLY GAY BISHOP IS A HUGE STEP FORWARD – BUT ’S NOT ENOUGH
• ARCHBISHOP WILL NOT GIVE NEW PRAYER BLSG FOR GAY UPL
• JT WELBY ACCED OF BOWG TO HOMOPHOBIA AFTER BANNG GAY BISHOP'S HBAND OM CHURCH SUMM
• GAY BISHOP: APPOTMENT OF NICHOLAS CHAMBERLA 'MAJOR ERROR' SAYS GAFN
• CHURCH OF ENGLAND CONMNS GAY CLERICS FOR OUTG PRITS AS BISHOPS PREP FOR LGBT DEBATE
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• GAY BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY TO HAVE A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP
• A TSUNAMI OF LOVE FOR A GAY BISHOP
• GAY PRITS SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CRISIS OVER SEXUALY
• SO HOW MANY GAY BISHOPS ARE THERE ENGLAND?
• GAY BISHOPS
• ENGLAND’S TOP CATHOLIC BISHOP ENDORS GAY CIVIL UNNS
• BISHOP OF GRANTHAM FIRST C OF E BISHOP TO CLARE HE IS GAY RELATNSHIP
• CHURCH OF ENGLAND BISHOP CLAR HE IS A GAY RELATNSHIP

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY BISHOP IS A HUGE STEP FORWARD – BUT ’S NOT ENOUGH

I worry that we are losg young people not jt om future clergy rol, but om even om stg the pews, due to our slow progrs on matters of g out, Chamberla said: “People know I’m gay, but ’s not the first thg I’d say to anyone.

Although Jt Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, recently affirmed the validy of a 1998 claratn that gay sex was a s, there are signs that the C of E may be movg towards allowg clergy to follow their nscience on the issue. The Church of England this week said wants to offer blsgs to gay upl but would not allow prits to marry Welby said he celebrat the change, but has a "rponsibily for the whole munn" Church also issued a formal apology for the "shameful" tim had "rejected or exclud" LGBTQI+ ntrast to Archbishop Welby's stance, the Archbishop of York said he will offer the prayers which he believ puts the church a "better place", beg tearful as he ma his statement.

Earlier this week, bishops told the BBC the church would not change a teachg to allow prits to marry same-sex upl, but that will offer "prayers of ditn, thanksgivg or God's blsg" to gay upl followg a civil marriage or proposal will be bated at the Church's equivalent of a parliament - the General Synod - next marriage has been legal England and Wal sce 2013, but when the law changed the Church did not alter s Welby told a prs nference on Friday that he would "ntue to pray for all those who e seekg prayer and to pray wh love", cludg those who were gay, straight, or who had worri about their relatnships.

ARCHBISHOP WILL NOT GIVE NEW PRAYER BLSG FOR GAY UPL

Media ptn, Watch: The Archbishop of York was emotnal about the Church of England's apologyMr Cottrell, who grew emotnal while speakg at the prs nference, said: "I'm really pleased 's changg for my gay iends, " acknowledgg that the change is not enough for some people. "'I'm nsirg leavg the Church'Image source, MathewImage ptn, Gay Christian Mathew Hulbert says LGBT Anglins should be celebrated not jt toleratedGay Anglin Mathew Hulbert told the BBC he felt "great disappotment" over the bishops' cisn not to propose same-sex marriage to the General Synod and is nsirg leavg the Church of England.

JT WELBY ACCED OF BOWG TO HOMOPHOBIA AFTER BANNG GAY BISHOP'S HBAND OM CHURCH SUMM

Church of England prits will be permted to bls the civil marriag of same-sex upl a profound shift the church’s stance on homosexualy after a historic vote by s erng first blsgs for gay upl uld happen this summer. ”Nigel Pietroni, the chair of the Campaign for Equal Marriage the C of E, said the cisn “falls short of what we ultimately believe is the only oute for radil cln – equal marriage for all people”, but was “a small step forward” gay rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell said: “The offer of blsgs to same-sex partners is an sult. Get the ee Morng Headl email for news om our reporters across the worldSign up to our ee Morng Headl emailA gay bishop whose hband has been barred om attendg a once--a- Anglin summ has acced the Archbishop of Canterbury of bowg to Robertson, a bishop Toronto, was told by Archbishop Jt Welby that his hband, Mohan Sharma, uld not attend next year’s Lambeth Conference bee of feroc opposn om ultra-nservative church lears om Ai, South Ameri and other bishops and their spo om the 40 Anglin church across the globe have been ved to the nference, which is the most signifint gatherg of Anglin lears and tak place jt once every 10 Archbishop Welby told Bishop Robertson he uld not brg his hband wh him bee would upset those om tradnalist church Ai, South Ameri and Asia, who strongly oppose any acmodatn wh LGBT+ Robertson told The Inpennt Archbishop Welby had effectively ved to bigotry.

Hardlers have threatened to boytt the gatherg altogether even though no gay partners will be head of the nservative Gafn movement of Anglin Church, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh om the Church of Nigeria, said last week he and his fellow believers had felt “the pa of betrayal” bee gay bishops, such as Bishop Robertson, were not also beg exclud along wh their on same sex marriageIf same-sex spo were beg barred so too should gay bishops, who have also mted to a “sexual relatnship [which is] patible wh scripture”, he wrote a blog post. Archbishop Welby attempted to fort Bishop Robertson durg their meetg by potg out at the last Lambeth Conference 2008 gay bishops as well as their partners were Bishop Robertson said this did not feel like much progrs to him.

”There has been growg anger at the ban on gay spo ever sce was announced last Bishop of Liverpool Pl Bay, a proment pro-LGBT+ advote the Church of England, has said he will not brg his own wife to the Lambeth Conference prott at the other gay bishop affected by the policy, Mary Glasspool om the dce of New York, has said she will travel to London wh her wife next year.

GAY BISHOP: APPOTMENT OF NICHOLAS CHAMBERLA 'MAJOR ERROR' SAYS GAFN

Media ptn, Bishop Nicholas Chamberla: "My sexualy is part of who I am, rather than the whole of who I am"Appotg a gay man as the bishop of Grantham was a "major error", the nservative Anglin group Gafn has Nicholas Chamberla said he was gay and a relatnship on was nsecrated last year by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Jt Welby - who has said he knew about the bishop's Chamberla told BBC News: "We are all God's people together... 'Ser ncern'"There are aspects of this appotment which are a ser e for ncern for biblilly orthodox Anglins around the world, and therefore we believe that this appotment is a major error, " the Gafn statement said the "element of secrecy" Bishop Chamberla's appotment gave the imprsn "that has been arranged wh the aim of prentg the Church wh a 'fa acpli', rather than engagg wh possible opposn" ptn, Revd Canon Andy L: "Christian lears are to be above reproach"The statement was signed by the Most Reverend Peter Jensen, who is the group's general secretary, and Canon Andy L, who is the chairman of Gafn's UK task L later told the BBC News webse he nsired the Bible his "supreme thory" and that listed a number of behavurs, of which practisg homosexualy was one, which "required repentance" he admted that celibate same-sex attractn required no such repentance, he scribed Bishop Chamberla's appotment as "unfortunate" for the Church terms of the the public perceptn said that if Bishop Chamberla was livg the same home as his partner would give the perceptn of marriage, but he nced that he did not know any specifics about his also said the timg of this news "was unhelpful and spic" given that the Church of England's College of Bishops meets this month for the next stage of the Church's discsns about Chamberla's sexualy was publicly disclosed an terview wh the Guardian, and has been reported that he gave the terview bee his private life was about to be exposed by a Sunday told the Guardian he had been wh his partner for many years and said: "It is fahful, lovg; we are like-md, we enjoy each other's pany and we share each other's life. "Same sex relatnships and the ChurchMedia ptn, Bishop Chamberla is said to be a long-term - but celibate - Hoe of Bishops has issued guidance about gay relatnships which say "same sex relatnships often embody genue mutualy and fily" the guidance adds: "Gettg married to someone of the same sex would, however, clearly be at variance wh the teachg of the Church of England.

CHURCH OF ENGLAND CONMNS GAY CLERICS FOR OUTG PRITS AS BISHOPS PREP FOR LGBT DEBATE

"However, the sentiments have not been followed throughout the Anglin source, PAImage ptn, Gene Robson is nsired the first openly gay bishop the Anglin worldIn the US, Gene Robson's electn as Bishop of the Epispal Dce of New Hampshire 2003 provoked a furore om nservative Anglins around the world, and ntributed to the rise of the nservative Gafn the UK, the Dean of St Albans, the Very Reverend Jefey John entered to a civil partnership was twice tipped to bee a bishop - at Readg 2003, then at Southwark 2010 - but was not appoted. "It is surprisg that mpaign groups which claim to support lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex Christians would dulge such irrponsible tactics whereby such claims may lead to attempts to intify dividual bishops, " the church said, acrdg to the Daily Right Rev.

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

What is more, 72 members of the Church's lg general synod wrote a letter Augt urgg bishops to adhere to the biblil doctre on 100 bishops are set to meet later September to discs the Church's posn on homosexualy and same-sex marriage as talks of a potential spl the Anglin Communn loom over the Stoyan Zaimov on Facebook: CPSZaimov Free Relig Freedom UpdatJo thoands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for ee, sent twice a week om The Christian Post.

Bisexual men are perceived to sound more mascule than men who are straight, acrdg to a study of Atralian subjects.Amics at the Universy of Sydney pared the voic of gay, straight and bisexual men a study volvg 160 people.In the rearch led by clil psychologist Jam Morandi, people were reced to analyse the voic of 60 men, 20 of whom were gay, 20 straight and 20 bisexual. They were then asked to rate the men on their sexual orientatn g a sle om zero (exclively heterosexual) to 10 (exclively homosexual).Listeners were also asked to rate each man’s perceived level of femy or masculy the voic on a siar sle.The men volved the study were asked to rerd themselv on a smartphone recg the first two l of the Atralian natnal anthem.Voice sampl were then modified to remove any background noise while volume levels were ma the same to ensure nsistency.Rults om the study showed listeners uld distguish between gay and straight men’s voic wh an accuracy of 62 per cent, apparently nsistent wh prev rearch.However, the study participants uld not terme any differenc between bisexual and straight men’s voic wh any gree of accuracy.

GAY BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY TO HAVE A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP

The thors said their rearch showed bisexual men’s voic were perceived as beg more exclively attracted to women pared wh both gay and straight men’s voic.Bisexual men’s voic were rated as more mascule than both gay and straight men’s voic.Rearchers claimed the abily to intify a man’s bisexual inty om his voice alone uld have cril social implitns such as helpg to rce feelgs of alienatn.‘Voice may unter visibily many bisexuals feel’An abstract of the study, tled Can listeners tect if a man is bisexual om his voice alone, reads: “The prent study examed whether bisexual men n be intified om their voic ak to how gay men n be intified on their voice alone.“If this is the se, voice may be an important target of discrimatn on the one hand but may also unter the visibily many bisexuals feel (if their bisexual inti n be apprehend by their voice alone, whout explic disclosure required).“The fdgs may also she light on whether bisexual male voic, like gay male voic, differ om straight voic terms of their genr non-nformy – a qutn that to date has not been examed.”But amics noted the rearch was limed on the grounds all men who participated the study are Atralian, which may not be reflected among wir cultur.And the thors nced the study did not ntrol for the rerdg environment or microphone-to-mouth distance, which uld have affected the qualy of the voice sampl.The thors said the fdgs suggted that while the voic of bisexual men the sample were perceived as more mascule and attracted to femal, listeners did not associate this imprsn wh bisexualy.As a rult, while bisexual men may appear to be at lower risk of facg voice-based intifitn and discrimatn than gay men, they may often be mistaken as beg straight.The study was published the Journal of Sex Rearch. Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc.

It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly. "Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy.

Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer". In a brave move, the bishop cid to give an exclive terview to The Guardian, and beme the first Church of England bishop to clare publicly that he was gay and a same-sex relatnship (News, 9 September) rponse to the media verage, some 500 letters and emails were sent to Dr Chamberla, many arrivg wh a week.

A TSUNAMI OF LOVE FOR A GAY BISHOP

Some offered particular thanks to Dr Chamberla for speakg out on the issue of homosexualy and the Church, and some wanted to qutn strongly the Church of England’s stance on same-sex marriage and l of celibacy for homosexual clergy. A small mory of the supportive wrers intified themselv through their letters as gay, some scribg eply troublg experienc wh Anglin church settgs that they hoped Bishop Nicholas’s public stance would beg to change.

And yet proment bishops have sgled out gay prits as the root of the problem, and right-wg media anisatns attack what they have lled the church’s “homosexual subculture”, “lavenr mafia” or “gay bal” Pope Francis has grown more cril recent months. He has lled homosexualy “fashnable”, remend that men wh “this ep-seated tenncy” not be accepted for mistry, and admonished gay prits to be “perfectly rponsible, tryg to never create sndal” month, Francis held a much-anticipated summ on sex abe wh bishops om around the world.

Prits nnot marry, so sexualy om the start was about abstence and sexual revolutn happeng outsi semary walls might as well have happened on the moon, and natnal ton the fight for gay rights such as the Stonewall rts, on prit a ral dce said the l remd him of how his elementary school forced left-hand stunts to wre wh their right hand. The grapeve has tght them which prits their dce are gay, whom to tst, and whom to prits mt wrtle wh their vows of celibacy, and the few prits who are publicly out make clear they are, many prits say they have had sex wh other men to explore their sexual inty. Letters poured llg him “satanic”, “gay filth”, and a “monster” who sodomised Francis opens a Vatin nference Febary, sayg that victims of sexual abe serve ‘ncrete and efficient measur’ (Rters)‘We have to get right when to sexualy’The ia that gay prits are rponsible for child sexual abe remas a persistent belief, pecially many nservative Catholic circl.

GAY PRITS SPEAK OUT ABOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CRISIS OVER SEXUALY

The tone, foc and edorial voice of the recent story “Meet the Gay Prit Gettg Married” lds the subject of the profile, a Church of England prit who has vowed to marry his gay partner spe beg told such an act vlated church l. Veterans' ttimoni “give shockg evince of a culture of homophobia, and of bullyg, blackmail and sexual asslts, abive vtigatns to sexual orientatn and sexual preference, disgraceful medil examatns, cludg nversn therapy, ” the report said. “From a personal pot of view, the ban affected me terms of who I was and what I uldn’t be for 34 years, " Holm ban on homosexualy was abandoned 2000, when the European Court of Human Rights led favor of four service personnel who were vtigated and then discharged bee of their sexualy.

The higher promence given today to the prence of homosexual clergy, cludg bishops, the life of the church reflects broar issu, both socially and eccllogilly (see List of Christian nomatnal posns on homosexualy), ncerng issu of social tolerance and the relatnship between social change and doctral velopment.

This has precipated cris var Christian nomatns, rultg om divergent nstals of Christian ethil doctr (see Homosexualy and Christiany), which turn are associated wh the terpretatn of the Bible (exegis and hermentics). Ined, the only large mastream church to ever nsecrate an openly gay bishop who was not celibate has been the Epispal Church the Uned Stat of Ameri, a member of the Anglin Communn, who nsecrated Gene Robson dcan bishop of Dce of New Hampshire 2003.

SO HOW MANY GAY BISHOPS ARE THERE ENGLAND?

Bishop Mervyn Castle was nsecrated Bishop of False Bay (a sufagan of the dce of Cape Town) 1994, but bee most Anglins outsi South Ai were unaware of his homosexualy, and bee he was celibate, no parable ntroversy took place. December 1, 2011 () – Acrdg to The Tablet, the Archbishop of Wtmster, England, has publicly exprsed support for homosexual civil unns, a move that appears to put him at odds wh a clear Vatin cree agast supportg such unns nfirmed by Pope John Pl II and then-Cardal Joseph Ratzger (now Pope Benedict) 2003. Notg that the bishops of England opposed homosexual civil unns 2003, Oddie adds, “now we are told, by the chairman of the bishops’ nference, that the English Church supports civil unns between homosexual persons, unns which have been given the legal right to adopt children.

The Vatin document, signed by Pope John Pl II and then-Cardal Josef Ratzger (now Pope Benedict XVI), stat: “The Church teach that rpect for homosexual persons nnot lead any way to approval of homosexual behavr or to legal regnn of homosexual unns. “Legal regnn of homosexual unns or placg them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of viant behavr, wh the nsequence of makg a mol prent-day society, but would also obscure basic valu which belong to the mon herance of humany.

GAY BISHOPS

Its tradnal belief that marriage is a unn of a man and a woman has e unr prsure om societal change and growg mands wh the church that gay people should be accepted and allowed to marry creasg number of prits have married or plan to marry same-sex partners fiance of the ban on gay clergy week, a group of C of E nservative evangelil parish held a meetg to discs their rponse to what they claimed to be the waterg-down of the thory of the Bible on the issue of sexualy, what was billed as potentially the first step towards a breakaway om the Anglin church.

David Hope, the former archbishop of York, said that his sexualy was a “grey area” after beg threatened wh beg “outed”; and former archbishop of Canterbury Gee Carey claimed to have knowgly nsecrated two celibate gay men as bishops the 2003 the Tim reported that the Right Rev Peter Wheatley, then the bishop of Edmonton, was gay and livg wh his partner. Get the ee Morng Headl email for news om our reporters across the worldSign up to our ee Morng Headl emailA Church of England bishop has e out as gay and a relatnship wh a long term sexualy of Nicholas Chamberla, Bishop of Grantham, has been known for some time wh the Church.

ENGLAND’S TOP CATHOLIC BISHOP ENDORS GAY CIVIL UNNS

BISHOP OF GRANTHAM FIRST C OF E BISHOP TO CLARE HE IS GAY RELATNSHIP

CHURCH OF ENGLAND BISHOP CLAR HE IS A GAY RELATNSHIP