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
