Bishops defy Carey over gay priests
Church and sexuality: Synod to be told homosexuals already being ordained
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Religious Affairs Correspondent
At least 10 Anglican Bishops are knowingly ordaining practising lesbians or gays, despite the repeated assertions of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, and the House of Bishops as a whole that homosexual activity is incompatible with priesthood, the lesbian and gay Christian movement claimed yesterday.
The chairman of the movement, the Rev Richard Kirker, said: "We anticipate a group of 10 or a dozen bishops who will come together and say they have been ordaining or are prepared to ordain practising homosexual clergy."
Mr Kirker was speaking at the launch of a propaganda offensive before the first meeting of the Church's newly elected General Synod, which starts today at Church House, Westminster. The movement has also published Reconsider, a booklet responding to the House of Bishops' 1991 report, Issues in Human Sexuality, which concluded that sexual activity might be acceptable between lay homosexual couples, but not among priests.
The booklet contains theological arguments in favour of Christian homosexuals, and personal testimony from a gay retired bishop, the Rt Rev Derek Rawcliffe, and from the girlfriend of a woman priest. It will be distributed to all synod members.
Mr Kirker claimed that 20 per cent of the new synod will support a more tolerant attitude towards gay clergy than the present official line of the Church of England. Other observers claim that it will turn out to be more conservative.
The first test of this willingness will come with a private member's motion, put down by the Rev David Gerrard, calling for further discussion of the bishops' report. This is recognised by both sides as a coded demand for a softening of the church's hard line.
The question of homosexuality is likely to arise in private members' questions this evening. However, the main business of the week's synod meeting is the discussion of the Turnbull Report, Dr Carey's plan to transform the Church of England into a modern, manageable organisation. This will, if accepted, have the effect of decapitating the synod and providing the church with a single "National Council" to run all aspects of its central life. Resistance to these plans has been growing since they were announced in the summer; the debate tomorrow afternoon will provide the clearest indication of sentiment in the new synod, which must approve them.
The other divisive issue before the synod is the report on family life, Something to Celebrate, which recommended that the phrase "living in sin" be dropped, attracting strong opposition from evangelists.
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