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| Questions of conscience over church's approach to gay bishops | Questions of conscience over church's approach to gay bishops |
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| If the lifting of the ban on gay bishops leads to a breakaway church of conservative Anglicans, then this may be the outcome the Anglican communion will have to live with (Gay bishops have to lie, 7 January). Perhaps this is not such a bad thing, if there really are strong divisions that cannot be bridged. Surely this is one of the weaknesses of the Christian texts, that they are susceptible to such different interpretations. | If the lifting of the ban on gay bishops leads to a breakaway church of conservative Anglicans, then this may be the outcome the Anglican communion will have to live with (Gay bishops have to lie, 7 January). Perhaps this is not such a bad thing, if there really are strong divisions that cannot be bridged. Surely this is one of the weaknesses of the Christian texts, that they are susceptible to such different interpretations. |
| It would seem a progressive move to announce that gay priests in civil partnerships can be appointed bishops as long as they remain celibate. However, the main practical question will be how the lifting of this ban will affect the recruitment procedure. Will a candidate for bishop have to renounce the relationship in order to go before the interview panel? Once at the interview, would they have to deal with questioning on their personal life? | It would seem a progressive move to announce that gay priests in civil partnerships can be appointed bishops as long as they remain celibate. However, the main practical question will be how the lifting of this ban will affect the recruitment procedure. Will a candidate for bishop have to renounce the relationship in order to go before the interview panel? Once at the interview, would they have to deal with questioning on their personal life? |
| It will certainly be testing of individual conscience, if a successful candidate for the episcopate says that they will in future be celibate. If they fail in that, should they then resign from the episcopate? Or will the lifting of this ban become eventual acceptance of gay priests, whether they are celibate or not? While the lifting of the ban on gay bishops is to be welcomed, the issues of church division, practicality and individual conscience will be highly complex. Elizabeth Oakley Dursley, Gloucestershire | It will certainly be testing of individual conscience, if a successful candidate for the episcopate says that they will in future be celibate. If they fail in that, should they then resign from the episcopate? Or will the lifting of this ban become eventual acceptance of gay priests, whether they are celibate or not? While the lifting of the ban on gay bishops is to be welcomed, the issues of church division, practicality and individual conscience will be highly complex. Elizabeth Oakley Dursley, Gloucestershire |
| • I was disappointed that Giles Fraser didn't explain the thinking behind the latest pronouncement. As an atheist indoctrinated in Catholicism about sex and the varieties of sin – venal, mortal and original – I am not familiar with Protestant doctrine on sex, except for the preference for the missionary position for heterosexual couplings. As marriage/civil partnerships are legal contracts to allow for sexual relationships, this latest statement from the Church of England is an oxymoron. Fraser's solution seems to be a typical C of E botch, just lie – in the same way some parents do when trying to get their child into a C of E school. I wonder what the supreme governor of the church thinks about this latest own goal in her church's effort to alienate women, who are barred from becoming bishops because they are inferior, and gay people, whose sexual activity is regarded as wrong/dirty. Surely this is bringing us nearer to disestablishment? Jeanne Rathbone London | • I was disappointed that Giles Fraser didn't explain the thinking behind the latest pronouncement. As an atheist indoctrinated in Catholicism about sex and the varieties of sin – venal, mortal and original – I am not familiar with Protestant doctrine on sex, except for the preference for the missionary position for heterosexual couplings. As marriage/civil partnerships are legal contracts to allow for sexual relationships, this latest statement from the Church of England is an oxymoron. Fraser's solution seems to be a typical C of E botch, just lie – in the same way some parents do when trying to get their child into a C of E school. I wonder what the supreme governor of the church thinks about this latest own goal in her church's effort to alienate women, who are barred from becoming bishops because they are inferior, and gay people, whose sexual activity is regarded as wrong/dirty. Surely this is bringing us nearer to disestablishment? Jeanne Rathbone London |
| • Lying to save oneself and others trouble may often be expedient, but that hardly makes it moral. If Jesus had taken this line we would never have heard of him. Why should priests and vicars be afraid of the church authorities? Are not all equal in the sight of God? If you lie to the authorities, you are also lying to your congregation and others to whom you claim to be imparting the gospel truth. This is hypocrisy. Today, when civilised humanitarian values have precedence over archaic religious prejudice, thanks to the courage of gays who refused to lie but stood their ground, the answer for vicars and bishops is not to indulge in hypocrisy but tell the truth. Alan Tower Rotherfield, East Sussex | • Lying to save oneself and others trouble may often be expedient, but that hardly makes it moral. If Jesus had taken this line we would never have heard of him. Why should priests and vicars be afraid of the church authorities? Are not all equal in the sight of God? If you lie to the authorities, you are also lying to your congregation and others to whom you claim to be imparting the gospel truth. This is hypocrisy. Today, when civilised humanitarian values have precedence over archaic religious prejudice, thanks to the courage of gays who refused to lie but stood their ground, the answer for vicars and bishops is not to indulge in hypocrisy but tell the truth. Alan Tower Rotherfield, East Sussex |
| • Am I right to assume that a gay woman priest in a civil partnership, not having sex, could now be appointed a bishop? Catherine Hoskyns London | • Am I right to assume that a gay woman priest in a civil partnership, not having sex, could now be appointed a bishop? Catherine Hoskyns London |
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