Gay vicar denounces 'immoral' Church of England and vows to fight on after being sacked over his marriage

Jeremy Pemberton had his permission to officiate as a priest revoked after marrying Laurence Cunnington

Canon Jeremy Pemberton (right) with his husband Laurence Cunnington (PA)

A gay clergyman has denounced the Church of England as “immoral” and vowed to fight on after an employment tribunal ruled he had not been discriminated against when his permission to officiate was revoked following his marriage to his partner.

In April last year, Canon Jeremy Pemberton, from Southwell, Nottinghamshire, married Laurence Cunnington, becoming the first Church of England vicar to enter into a same-sex marriage.

Following the wedding, the acting Bishop for Southwell and Nottingham, the Right Rev Richard Inwood, revoked Mr Pemberton’s permission to officiate as a priest in that diocese. He also informed the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust he would not give Mr Pemberton the licence needed for the canon to take up a post as a bereavement manager there.

Church of England clergy are permitted to enter into same-sex civil partnerships but same-sex marriage is prohibited as, according to the Church, marriage can only take place between a man and a woman.

Mr Pemberton claimed the Church of England’s position on same-sex marriage breached the 2010 Equality Act. But an employment tribunal panel has ruled Mr Pemberton had not been discriminated against.

In a 58-page judgement, the claim that the bishop had discriminated against Mr Pemberton because of his sexual orientation was also dismissed.

Commenting on the tribunal’s decision, a spokesman for the diocese said: “We are thankful to the tribunal for its work on this complex case and for its findings in favour of the Right Rev Richard Inwood, on all the claims made against him.”

Mr Pemberton slammed the decision and the Church’s reaction. He told The Independent: “The majority of people in this country do not understand why the Church of England has this problem and why it can’t get over itself. Using the word ‘thankful’ is disgraceful.”

He revealed his lawyers believe there are “ample grounds” for appeal and insisted he would continue to fight his case as it was “a matter of public interest”.

He said: “I don’t think what happened to me was right or good; it was a terrible thing. I said, ‘I’m not going to sit in the closet quietly. I’m not going to be ashamed to love who I love.’ [The Church] said I had somehow disgraced my orders by getting married.

“There are points in your life when you think, ‘I’ve got to do something about this. I’m either going to go under or I just say no’. Because I had the capacity to stand up and say no, I think I had a responsibility to do so.”

Mr Pemberton, who continues to work as a chaplain in his old job in another NHS Trust in a different diocese, in Lincolnshire, continued: “I drive up the A46 from Nottinghamshire and suddenly I’m a priest again. It’s weird but it’s also very painful.”

The Church of England will eventually change its position, Mr Pemberton believes. “I don’t know if I will be around to see it [but] I’m going to carry on saying no,” he said. “It is not possible for the Church to take a position that most people think is immoral and wrong and bad,” he added.