Women Bishops Would Humanise Priesthood, Says Archbishop of Canterbury

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Women should be allowed to become bishops in the Church of England to “humanise” the priesthood, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Dr Rowan Williams warned the Church hierarchy to prepare for the “culture change” that would come with the “full inclusion” of women.

Removing the bar to women’s ordination as bishops would help reverse the “creeping bureaucratisation” and “box ticking” that too often undermines the work of the Church, Dr Williams suggested.

His comments came as reforms allowing women to become bishops came a step closer to passing into Church law.

The 44 individual dioceses have until mid-November to hold ballots among members of their local synods, or assemblies, on whether to support plan.

The reforms have already proven highly divisive, contributing to hundreds of worshippers and clerics, including five bishops, leaving the Church of England to become Roman Catholics this year. » | Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor | Monday, October 03, 2011

The Anglican Church is already an irrelevance; the Archbishop of Canterbury is in the process of making it more irrelevant still.

The Church has been feminized over the years; and the more feminized the Church has become, the more the pews have emptied.

If Jesus had wanted there to be female priests and bishops, he'd have ensured that at least one of his disciples was a woman. He didn't do this; so it is pretty clear to me that this was not his intention.

Some people will say at this juncture that there were no women disciples because society back then was different. That's true. But Jesus was a revolutionary; so if he had wanted women to go out and preach the Gospel, he'd have made sure that his message was clear that they should. There is no doubt in my mind that this will bring no benefit to the Church. In fact, it will weaken an already weak Church even more.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is a man with his own liberal agenda. It appears that his agenda is more important to him than the survival of the Church.

Christianity is already dying on its feet in this country. Rowan Williams is only helping it along to its final resting place.

The Anglican Church – my own Church – has held little attraction for me for a very long time. This measure to introduce female bishops will make the Church still less attractive to me.

A feminized Church will be a weak Church. And as for his wanting to "humanise" the Church... Hasn't the Church been 'human' enough throughout the centuries? What a load of tosh, bunkum, and poppycock! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Church of England to Approve First Openly Gay Bishop
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Church of England is to give the go-ahead for the appointment of openly homosexual bishops.

The Church will publish legal advice on Monday that says that homosexual clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops - as long as they remain celibate.

The legal guidance makes clear that it would be wrong for a cleric's sexual orientation to be taken into account when considering their suitability as a bishop.

However, the guidance will say that homosexual clergy should be made to clarify that they are not in an active sexual relationship - effectively make a promise that they are and will remain celibate.

It would also mean candidates for a bishopric being questioned over their previous sex life and asked whether they repent having gay sex.

The advice is likely to trigger a new row over the role of homosexual priests in the Church. Conservatives and liberals are bitterly divided over the issue. » | Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Sunday, June 19, 2011

My comment on this appears here. It is not a stand-alone comment. It is a response to someone else's.

Archbishop Says the Church Will Resist Government Moves on Gay Marriage
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury has vowed to defend the Church’s traditional stance on marriage against Government moves to introduce homosexual weddings in churches.

Dr Rowan Williams has refused to be drawn on the issue publicly, but has broken his silence to tell MPs he is not prepared for the Coalition to tell the Church how to behave.

He told a private meeting of influential politicians that the Church of England would not bow to public pressure to allow its buildings to be used to conduct same-sex civil partnerships.

The comments are the first time he has spoken since the Coalition unveiled plans to allow religious buildings to be used to conduct homosexual partnership ceremonies.

While the Church has been bitterly divided over the role of its homosexual clergy, he said it held a clear position that marriage is between a man and a woman and would not consider changing this stance. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, February 26, 2011

Queen Opens Church General Synod Amid Signs of Change
BBC: After a special service at Westminster Abbey later, the Queen is to open the Church of England's General Synod.

The synod gets the honour of a royal inauguration because this is the established, state church and the Queen is its supreme governor.

The synod - the Church's legislative body - is the only institution outside parliament that can make laws, even if it does have to get its decisions approved by a special parliamentary committee.

One of the most important laws likely to emerge in the synod's five-year term starting on Tuesday is the introduction of women bishops.

It has already been a debate that has deeply divided traditionalists from progressives, and led some on the Catholic wing of the Church to say they will take up the Pope's offer of a place in the Roman Catholic Church.

To many outside the Church - and to some Anglicans as well - so much anguish and dispute over what they regard as a logical progression from the ordination of women priests 16 years ago is unaccountable.

But for traditionalists - from both Anglo-Catholic and Protestant backgrounds - there is something fundamental at stake.

Some see it as part of a struggle for the soul of the Church, suggesting that the future starting with this new synod will bring in a more liberal Anglicanism which has less time for traditionalist values.

They point to the growing "feminisation" of the Church as a cause for concern. >>> Robert Pigott, Religious affairs correspondent, BBC News | Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Pope to Call for 'Full Communion' Between Anglicans and Catholics
THE TELEGRAPH: The Pope is to make a dramatic offer to disaffected Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church.

Dr Rowan Williams and Pope Benedict XVI embrace on Friday. Dr Williams has admitted that the papal offer last year put him in 'an awkward position' and it is unlikely that he would welcome Anglicans being encouraged to defect to Rome. Photo: The Telegraph
In a move which the pontiff views as a positive step for Christianity, he will on Sunday make a personal plea for the Churches to come together.

Pope Benedict XVI sees this as the best way to challenge the rise of "aggressive secularism" and heal centuries of division.

He will use the final speech of his historic state visit to urge for a "restoration of full ecclesial communion" between the Churches, which separated nearly 500 years ago.

Addressing the Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland, he will argue that his offer to disaffected Anglicans should not be viewed negatively, but as "a prophetic gesture".

However, the speech could undermine his efforts to build bridges with Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who confronted the Pope over the issue last year.

The plea will come at the end of his four day state visit to England and Scotland which has seen tens of thousands of members of the public attend religious ceremonies and thousands more lining the streets to see him. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, September 18, 2010

Cardinal Newman's Beatification 'Miracle'
BBC: The Pope is to perform the first beatification ceremony ever to take place in the UK, paving the way for the Victorian Cardinal John Henry Newman to become a saint.

Thousands are expected to attend the ceremony in Cofton Park in Birmingham, but some have questioned the validity of the miracle attributed to Cardinal Newman.

Robert Pigott reports. Watch BBC video >>> | Sunday, September 19, 2010

African Clergy Told to Re-evangelise 'Ailing' Anglican Church
THE GUARDIAN: Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, reiterates opposition to homosexuality at Entebbe meeting of 400 bishops

Anglican bishops gather for the opening of the second meeting of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa in Entebbe. Photograph: The Guardian
The archbishop of Uganda has urged hundreds of African bishops to shake off their fears, shame and superficial dependency and re-evangelise the "ailing" churches of the west.

In a rallying cry to the biggest constituency of the Anglican Communion, Henry Orombi said yesterday was time for Africans to "rise up and bring fresh life in the ailing global Anglicanism".

His call came on the day that US Episcopalians published a guide on liturgical and ceremonial resources for clergy and same-sex couples.

Orombi was addressing 400 bishops who are in Entebbe, Uganda, this week for the second meeting of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa. He told them the "potentials" attending the conference must be free to go to Europe and the US and revive the "Mother Church desperate for the gospel".

Listening was the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who faces an awkward week as he visits Uganda for the first time since he took office in 2002.

According to the Daily Nation in Kenya, African church leaders will use the meeting to reiterate their concerns about homosexuality and criticise the archbishop for failing to punish communities that welcome gays and lesbians into the pews and priesthood.

Orombi told the paper: "Homosexuality is incompatible with the word of God. It is good archbishop Rowan is here. We are going to express to him where we stand. We are going to explain where our pains are." >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hundreds of Traditionalist Clergy Poised to Leave Church of England
THE TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of traditionalist clergy are set to leave the Church of England over plans to introduce women bishops.

Leading Anglo-Catholic clergy warned that the failure to provide concessions to opponents of the historic reform would force many of them to defect to Rome.

In a highly-charged debate at the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, members rejected a compromise deal put forward by the archbishops of Canterbury and York which would have averted a schism.

The archbishops’ plans would have seen the creation of a new class of male-only bishops to look after conservative evangelical and Anglo-Catholic parishes opposed to female leadership in the Church.

Canon David Houlding, a prebendary at St Paul’s cathedral, estimated that as many as 200 traditionalist clergy could leave the Church, taking thousands of worshippers with them.

“People’s patience is running out and many will now be asking whether they should try and practice their Catholic faith in the Church of England,” he said.

“The vote was a severe blow to the archbishop [of Canterbury] and it has pushed us closer to the door.” >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Monday, July 12, 2010

A Divided Church Faces Its Darkest Hour
THE TELEGRAPH: By rejecting a compromise over women bishops, the General Synod has plunged the Anglican Church into crisis. Jonathan Wynne-Jones reports.

Humiliated: the authority of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has been wounded by his defeat in the Synod Photo: The Telegraph
On Saturday night, the Archbishop of Canterbury suffered the most humiliating defeat of his time in office when the Church rejected his compromise deal over women bishops. It followed a week in which Rowan Williams had found himself at the centre of a storm over the blocked appointment of Jeffrey John, the homosexual Dean of St Albans, to be Bishop of Southwark.

Castigated by liberals who accused him of betraying his old friend by not securing his promotion, the Archbishop arrived at the General Synod in York also facing a mutiny over his plans to avert an exodus of traditionalists opposed to women's ordination.

On the eve of one of the most pivotal debates in the Church's recent history, liberal bishops had met to discuss how they would derail proposals put forward by Dr Williams and Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

They were well aware of the impact that their rebellion would have on Dr Williams's authority. But they were still prepared to take drastic action because of their despair at his suggestion that a new tier of male-only bishops should be created to minister to traditionalists. This would undermine the role of women bishops, they believed. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones | Monday, July 12, 2010

Split Looms for Church Over Women Bishops
THE TELEGRAPH: The embattled Archbishop of Canterbury has suffered a devastating blow to his hopes of averting a split in the Church of England over the introduction of women bishops.

Plans put forward by Dr Rowan Williams urging a compromise over the issue were rejected last night by members of the General Synod, including some of his most senior bishops.

The last-ditch proposal was designed to prevent an exodus of traditionalist priests, who are now likely to defect to the Roman Catholic Church.

It represented a significant gamble by Dr Williams, who was heavily criticised by liberals last week after Dr Jeffrey John, the homosexual cleric, was blocked from becoming Bishop of Southwark. Dr John's nomination to the post was revealed by The Sunday Telegraph last week.

The failure by the archbishop to gain sufficient support for his plan is likely to be viewed as a further dent to his authority.

Groups within the church have been campaigning for female clerics to be treated equally and to be allowed to become bishops, without any concessions that would undermine their ministry.

But their proposals have been opposed by traditionalists and evangelicals who do not believe making women bishops is in accordance with biblical teaching. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, July 10, 2010

Gay Cleric Blocked from Becoming Church of England Bishop
THE TELEGRAPH: An openly homosexual cleric has been blocked from becoming a Church of England bishop, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Members of the Crown Nominations Commission, which includes Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, rejected calls for Dr Jeffrey John to be made the next Bishop of Southwark.

The Dean of St Albans, who is in a civil partnership with another priest, was on the shortlist for the post and was considered to be a front-runner for the job.

David Cameron had been made aware of his nomination and is believed to have been supportive of promoting the homosexual cleric.

However, a secret meeting of senior Church figures has decided to overlook Dr John amid fears that his consecration would have provoked a split in the Church.

Conservative Anglican leaders had warned that evangelical parishes would not recognise him as a bishop and instead would seek “alternative episcopal oversight”.

But the snub will infuriate liberal clergy who believed he was the outstanding candidate and that his appointment would signal a move towards greater inclusion for homosexuals in the Church. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Martin Beckford | Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Related article here

Gay Cleric in Line to Become Bishop in Church of England
THE TELEGRAPH: An openly-homosexual cleric has been nominated to become a senior bishop, in a move that threatens to provoke a damaging split in the Church of England.

A confidential meeting, chaired by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has approved Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans, to be on the shortlist to be the next Bishop of Southwark.

He is understood to be the favoured candidate.

Dr John is a hugely divisive figure in the church after he was forced to stand down from becoming the Bishop of Reading in 2003 after it emerged he was in a homosexual, but celibate, relationship.

Promoting him to one of the most senior offices in the Church would trigger a civil war between liberals and conservatives and exacerbate existing divisions within the Anglican Communion. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, July 03, 2010

First Lesbian Bishop to Be Consecrated by Anglican Church in America
THE TELEGRAPH: The first openly lesbian bishop in the Anglican church will be consecrated this weekend, deepening divisions over homosexuality.

The Rev Mary Glasspool will become Assistant Bishop of Los Angeles in a “grand event” taking place at a 13,500-seat arena on the Californian coast.

Her appointment is being made despite warnings from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, about the “serious questions” it will raise for the 80 million-strong Anglican Communion.

It is being viewed by traditionalists as another “provocative” move by the ultra-liberal Episcopal Church of the USA in “defiance” of pleas not to go against tradition and Scripture by ordaining homosexual bishops.

The Communion was first driven to the brink of schism over sexuality in 2003 when the Episcopal Church, the official Anglican province of the USA, consecrated the first openly homosexual bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson.

Since then hundreds of orthodox American clergy and congregations have joined other provinces or formed breakaway movements, triggering bitter legal battles over the ownership of church property. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, May 15, 2010

Church Faces Turmoil Over Plans for Women Bishops
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Traditionalist Anglicans have warned that new proposals to pave the way for women bishops would force them to leave the Church of England.

In a move set to engulf the Church in a bitter row over the historic reform, legislation was published yesterday which will allow women clergy to enter the top ranks while giving almost no concessions to opponents.

While groups campaigning for female clerics to be treated equally expressed joy at the new plans, leading traditionalists reacted angrily to the development.

They claimed that the proposals were designed to "wipe out" those on the Anglo-Catholic and evangelical wings of the Church who do not believe it is in accordance with biblical teaching for women to be bishops.

The legislation, which would go before parliament if approved by the General Synod, could trigger a much larger defection of clergy to Rome than previously predicted. It follows a secret meeting held between the Vatican and three Anglican bishops last month.

The Rt Rev John Broadhurst, the Bishop of Fulham and one of those involved with the talks in Rome, said Anglo-Catholics would be "incandescent" and would effectively be "forced out" of the Church of England. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Sunday, May 09, 2010

Anglican Idiocy Down Under! Thou Shalt Not Breed: Anglicans
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: THE Anglican Church wants Australians to have fewer children and has urged the federal government to scrap the baby bonus and cut immigration.

Wading into the population debate, the General Synod of the Anglican Church has warned that current rates of population growth are unsustainable and potentially out of step with church doctrine - including the eighth commandment, ''Thou shall not steal''.

In a significant intervention, the Anglican Public Affairs Commission has warned concerned Christians that remaining silent ''is little different from supporting further overpopulation and ecological degradation''.

''Out of care for the whole of creation, particularly the poorest of humanity and the life forms who cannot speak for themselves … it is not responsible to stand by and remain silent,'' a discussion paper by the commission warns.

''Unless we take account of the needs of future life on Earth, there is a case that we break the eighth commandment - 'Thou shall not steal'.'' >>> Josh Gordon | Sunday, May 09, 2010

Anglican Bishops in Secret Vatican Summit
THE TELEGRAPH: Leading traditionalist bishops in the Anglican Church have secretly told senior Vatican officials that they are ready to defect to Rome, taking clergy with them.

In a move likely to raise tensions between the two Churches, a group of Church of England bishops met last week with advisers of Pope Benedict XVI to set in motion steps that would allow priests to convert to Catholicism en masse.

They are set to resign their orders in opposition to the introduction of women bishops and to lead an exodus of Anglican clerics to the Catholic Church despite Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging them not to leave.

It would be the first time for nearly 20 years that large numbers of priests have crossed from the Church of England to Rome, and comes only weeks ahead of a crucial General Synod debate on making women bishops. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, May 01, 2010

Cristina Odone: Finally, Even Archbishop Rowan Williams Admits Christians Are Under Attack
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: It’s Easter and Christians have come out of hiding. In fact, they are very much in the limelight: the Archbishop of Canterbury was on Start the Week, Richard Harries is in The Times, Nicky Campbell presented a BBC documentary on the persecution of Christians in this country. In what is a startling departure, the claim by Christians that they are discriminated against, and often attacked, by virtue of their religion, has been investigated – and legitimised.

No one has been killed or tortured, Rowan Williams and Richard Harries remind us; no one could seriously claim that their lot compares with that of Christians in Iran or Nigeria. But finally even the clergy and the BBC acknowledge that Christians are a target of abuse from a relativist culture that thinks to distinguish between wicked and good is to be judgemental, and to believe in the One True Faith is to be smugly superior. Unless, that is, you are a Muslim and maybe a Jew. Read on and comment >>> Cristina Odone | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010

Peter Hitchens: Our Nice, Furry Archbishop... Lost in a Barbarous World
MAIL ONLINE: Do we have to wait until the hate-filled mobs storm into Canterbury Cathedral and drag him from the pulpit before the Archbishop of Canterbury grasps that Christianity is in danger in this country? Nice, furry, mild and useless, Dr Rowan Williams chose this Easter week not to protect his Church, but to rebuke several bishops who had rightly warned of the swelling rage against the Church.

No doubt he is right to point out that Christians elsewhere suffer more. I would like to hear more protests from 'human rights' campaigners against the nasty treatment of Christians in the Muslim world, not least under the rule of the Palestinian Authority which many leftist Christians idiotically admire.

But so what? In those rough neighbourhoods, under the grudging scowl of Muslim so-called 'tolerance', this has been the case for centuries. Here, things are and ought to be different. Dr Williams is the head of the Established Church in England. The laws of this country, the shape of its cities and countryside, its language, morals, literature, architecture, family structure and politics are all based upon Christianity.

Take it away and it will be like removing the mortar from a great building, leaving its bricks and stones loose and trembling in the storm to come. And yet there are many people who want to do this. In this Century of Selfishness, Christianity is an annoying obstacle, with its infuriating insistence on active unselfishness and its unalterable rules which say that there are some things you just cannot do, like for instance murder unborn babies and walk out on your marriage.

Last week, there was yet another case of someone being in trouble for being a Christian, in an officially Christian country. I collect these incidents: preachers arrested and fined; nurses disciplined for offering to pray for patients; registrars disciplined for declining to officiate at homosexual civil partnerships; adoption societies forced to close because they will not place children with same-sex couples. Just 30 years ago, they would have been unthinkable. Another few decades and Christianity will be against the law. >>> Peter Hitchens | Easter Monday, April 05, 2010

Is This Really What the Church Is About? Anglican Bishops Back End to Ban on Gay Civil Partnerships in Church
Franck Bordese, left, and Guy Bentham had their union blessed by the Rev Andy Pakula, centre, a Unitarian minister. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Gay couples could soon be allowed to “marry” in church after a decision by Anglican bishops and other clergy to support a relaxation of the ban.

Senior bishops in the Lords have told The Times that they will support an amendment to the Equality Bill next month that will lift the ban on civil partnership ceremonies in religious premises. The amendment would remove the legislative prohibition on blessings of homosexual couples and open the door to the registration of civil partnerships in churches, synagogues, mosques and all other religious premises.

In a letter to The Times a group of Church of England clerics say today that religious denominations should be allowed to register civil partnerships on their premises if they wish.

It would be up to individual denominations whether to offer civil partnership ceremonies.

The Church of England, which along with the wider Anglican Communion is divided over gay ordinations and same-sex blessings, will maintain its official ban. But if the legislative prohibition is lifted, as seems likely, the Church’s own ban is likely to be ignored by some clergy. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Rosemary Bennett | Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Vicar Outrages Congregation by Telling Women to 'Be Silent and Submit to Your Husbands'
MAIL ONLINE: A vicar has come under fire after instructing his female parishioners to 'be silent' and 'submit to your husbands'.

Angus MacLeay, the rector of St Nicholas Church in Sevenoaks, Kent, issued a leaflet to his congregation saying that women should 'not speak' if questions could be answered by their husbands.

The pamphlet, entitled The Role Of Women In The Local Church, has enraged female members of the congregation, in particular a section called Family Life And Church Family Life.

It reads: 'Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything in recognition of the fact that husbands are head of the family as Christ is head of the church.

'This is the way God has ordered their relationships with each other and Christian marriage cannot function well without it.'

The leaflet - under a section called More Difficult Passages To Consider - continues: 'It would seem that women should remain silent... if their questions could legitimately be answered by their husbands at home.'

Reverend MacLeay, whose wife teaches at fee-paying Sevenoaks School, sits on the General Synod and is chairman of the board of trustess of Reform, a hardline organisation committed to 'reforming the church from within according to the holy scriptures'. >>> Graham Smith | Friday, February 12, 2010

TIMES ONLINE: David Code warns parents how spoilt children turn into monsters >>> Penny Wark | Saturday, February 13, 2010

General Synod: Church of England Exodus Feared Unless Women Bishops Plans Changed
THE TELEGRAPH: Conservative clergy have warned of a mass exodus from the Church of England and a sharp drop in its income unless divisive plans for the introduction of women bishops are changed.

On the first day of the gathering of the Church’s governing body, the General Synod, Anglo-Catholics claimed that “large numbers” would leave for Rome if their demands for concessions are not met.

Meanwhile 50 serving priests belonging to Reform, the evangelical group, signed an open letter saying that the situation could force them to cut off funding for dioceses and spend their money on training new vicars outside the Church instead.

The established church, which introduced women to the priesthood in 1994, is committed to ordaining female bishops as well but the process has been held up by the entrenched positions of both supporters and opponents of the historic move.

Liberals argue that women should be introduced to the episcopate on the same basis and with the same powers as men, otherwise an unfair two-tier system will develop.

However conservatives claim they were assured back when women priests were introduced that provisions would be made for them, similar to the “flying bishops” that currently cater for parishes that cannot accept the oversight of female vicars, when the next step was taken.

They want either an entirely new “men-only” province that could cover the whole of England, or extra junior bishops in dioceses who had not ordained women bishops and who would be answerable only to an Archbishop. >>> Martin Beckford | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Rowan Williams Issues 'Profound Apology' to Gay Christians
TIMES ONLINE: The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a “profound apology” to the lesbian and gay Christian community today.
In a powerful address to the General Synod, Dr Rowan Williams warned that any schism within the Church would represent a betrayal of God’s mission.

But he made clear that he regretted recent rhetoric in which he has sought to mollify the fears of the traditionalist wing of the church.

The Archbishop is from the Church’s liberal wing and a man who once espoused equal rights for gays within the Church. More recently he has adopted a conservative line for the sake of Church unity.

Today he said: “There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them.

“I have been criticised for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression.”
Addressing the even more contentious debate over gay ordinations — something which threatens to split the Church farther [sic] with the expected consecration in May of Canon Mary Glasspool, a lesbian, as a bishop in Los Angeles — Dr Williams said it had not been helped by those who ignored the fact that many worshippers were gay, as well as many “sacrificial and exemplary priests”.

He made it clear that there was blame on all sides of the argument that has brought the Church to the brink of splitting. He pleaded for Anglicans angry over gays and women bishops to cease fighting, admitting that he and other bishops might have to settle for a two-tier communion. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Prize Comment of the Day:

Why is 'God' so concerned with what men do with their willies? There must be hundreds of issues more deserving of attention in the world today than this. Too many men in dresses getting hot under the collar.

Surely a religion where you are encouraged to worship a naked man (and his dad) should be a haven for the gay community. I can't believe the church doesn't need the bodies on a Sunday either.

I think I might get burnt at the stake now. – Gaberdine Dog, [Source: TimesOnline/Page 3 of comments]

Church to Vote on Greater Rights for Partners of Gay Clergy
THE TELEGRAPH: The Church of England is poised to give greater recognition to homosexual clergy in relationships, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

A proposal to give the partners of gay priests some of the same rights that are awarded to priests' spouses is likely to spark a new row over homosexuality.

Bishops and senior clergy will debate at next month's General Synod whether the Church should provide same-sex couples with the same financial benefits as are awarded to married couples.

Traditionalists have expressed strong opposition to the move, which they claim would give official recognition to homosexual relationships.

They warn that affording equal treatment to heterosexual and homosexual couples would undermine the Church's teaching on marriage.

At present, the Church bars clergy from being in active gay relationships, although it bowed to pressure to allow them to enter civil partnerships on the condition that they are celibate.

Liberals believe that the motion, to be unveiled this week, could be a major breakthrough in securing rights for gay clergy.

It calls on the Archbishops' Council, chaired by Dr Rowan Williams, to introduce changes that would "provide for pension benefits to be paid to the surviving civil partners of deceased clergy on the same basis as they are currently paid to surviving spouses".

However, there are serious concerns over the effects that such a change would have on the Church's finances as well as on the thin hopes of maintaining unity in the Anglican Communion, which is deeply divided over the issue of homosexual clergy. >>> Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Saturday, January 16, 2010