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| Church of England to plan response after rejection of same-sex report | Church of England to plan response after rejection of same-sex report |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Church of England bishops are expected to discuss their next step after the synod rejected its report on same-sex relationships. | |
| Bishops could press ahead with a proposal in their report to produce a “teaching document” for clergy on marriage and sexuality, which would not need the synod’s approval. | |
| The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, promised to rethink the report, saying Wednesday’s vote was “not the end of the story, nor was it intended to be. As bishops we will think again and go on thinking, and we will seek to do better. We could hardly fail to do so in the light of what was said.” | |
| The clergy voted 100 to 93 against a motion to “take note” of the report, meaning the motion fell despite an overall synod majority in favour, as it needed to pass in each house of the synod – bishops, clergy and laity. | |
| While acknowledging the symbolism of the vote against the report, church figures pointed out the closeness of the clergy vote, especially when nine recorded abstentions were taken into account. | While acknowledging the symbolism of the vote against the report, church figures pointed out the closeness of the clergy vote, especially when nine recorded abstentions were taken into account. |
| Christopher Cocksworth, the bishop of Coventry, apologised for pressing the wrong button on his electronic handset, inadvertently voting against the report. A second synod member, from the laity, also said he had accidentally voted against the report. | |
| The two mistakes made “no material difference to the outcome of the vote”, said a C of E spokesperson. “It is the responsibility of synod members to follow debates and the business of synod carefully and to cast their votes accordingly.” | The two mistakes made “no material difference to the outcome of the vote”, said a C of E spokesperson. “It is the responsibility of synod members to follow debates and the business of synod carefully and to cast their votes accordingly.” |
| Some bishops acknowledge that the church’s opposing camps – supporters of gay rights and conservative opponents of same-sex relationships – cannot be reconciled. | |
| But LGBT members of the church are confident that a significant number of bishops have understood the need to listen more closely and consult more widely. | But LGBT members of the church are confident that a significant number of bishops have understood the need to listen more closely and consult more widely. |
| Andrew Foreshew-Cain, a London vicar who married his partner in defiance of the church, said supporters of gay rights understood that same-sex church weddings were probably a generation away. “But we want a recognition among bishops of the legitimate diversity within the church, and that people who don’t agree with the official line have a place at the table.” | |
| He said the bishops had underestimated the shift among many evangelical Christians in the past five years to an understanding of LGBT issues. “There will always be a few absolutists, and they may well choose to leave [the C of E]. But most of the church can probably agree on some movement.” | |
| As bishops consider how to proceed after the synod rebuff, a quiet campaign of civil disobedience may step up with an increasing number of clergy offering de facto services of blessing to same-sex couples in civil partnerships or marriages in the coming months in defiance of church rules. | As bishops consider how to proceed after the synod rebuff, a quiet campaign of civil disobedience may step up with an increasing number of clergy offering de facto services of blessing to same-sex couples in civil partnerships or marriages in the coming months in defiance of church rules. |
| The synod, which ended on Thursday, heard an international perspective on the issue of sexuality from Josiah Atkins Idowu-Fearon, the secretary general of the global Anglican communion. He said: “The dispiriting and destructive dynamic of Anglican conflict over human sexuality … [is] divisive between the provinces of the Anglican communion as well as within them.” | |
| But Idowu-Fearon, a Nigerian bishop, suggested churches in Africa faced more fundamental challenges than whether people of the same sex could marry in church. | |
| “In my own African context, and more specifically my Nigerian context, the single most pressing issue around human sexuality is the criminalisation of homosexuality … The struggle for the legal, social, spiritual and physical safety of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters is our issue in Nigeria and other places in Africa,” he said. | “In my own African context, and more specifically my Nigerian context, the single most pressing issue around human sexuality is the criminalisation of homosexuality … The struggle for the legal, social, spiritual and physical safety of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters is our issue in Nigeria and other places in Africa,” he said. |
| “The prophetic task for African Anglicans is to denounce violence, and civil liberties that are supported by members of our own communities and leadership. This is about changing attitudes, and we need the space to do this work on our own.” | “The prophetic task for African Anglicans is to denounce violence, and civil liberties that are supported by members of our own communities and leadership. This is about changing attitudes, and we need the space to do this work on our own.” |