Gays can be priests, say Scottish bishops

The Scottish Episcopal Church has been praised by gay rights campaigners for declaring that being a practising homosexual was no bar to becoming a priest.

The Scottish Episcopal Church has been praised by gay rights campaigners for declaring that being a practising homosexual was no bar to becoming a priest.

The view differs from the Anglican Communion in other parts of the world, which is in turmoil over the consecration of gay US bishop Gene Robinson.

The College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church said it had "never regarded the fact that someone was in a close relationship with a member of the same sex as in itself constituting a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry".

The statement was made on the church website in a response to a February meeting of 35 top world Anglican leaders.

The Scottish bishops also said clergy on occasion responded to requests to give a blessing to same-sex couples.

It is believed to be the first time the Scottish church - which has 45,000 members - has publicly declared its position on gay clergy and blessings of homosexual couples.

The view was welcomed by gay rights group Stonewall.

Spokesman Alan Wardle said: "We are not theologians but we welcome the sensible approach taken by the Scottish Episcopal Church.

"It strikes us as a real pity that the Anglican Church has been tearing itself to pieces over what seems a relatively trivial issue when they could be tackling more pressing matters like world poverty or the Aids epidemic."

The statement comes at a delicate time for Anglicans worldwide and is in contrast to the Scottish Episcopal Church's sister body, the Church of England, which will ordain homosexuals only if they are not in a physical relationship.

The issue of homosexuality last month threatened to split the international Anglican Communion.

Anglican leaders have criticised the US Episcopal Church over the consecration of Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire and the Anglican Church of Canada for its blessing of same sex unions, and demanded they withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for three years.

The Scottish bishops expressed regret at the decision to request the withdrawal of US and Canadian Churches from the ACC.

"We are conscious that as a church we are much indebted in our life both to a significant presence of persons of homosexual orientation, and also those whose theology and stance would be critical of attitudes to sexuality other than abstinence outside marriage," they said.

"We rejoice in both."

The Most Reverend Bruce Cameron, the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, confirmed that someone would not be automatically barred from ministry because they were gay.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The statement recognised the difficult decisions we are all involved in and it committed our own church to work to preserve the unity of that community, and the other point was, it recognised differences of opinion within our province.

"We are in fact simply stating what is the present position that we do not have a synodical decision like the Church of England has, which was made a number of years ago, therefore if there is someone who was homosexual, of a homosexual orientation, felt a sense of call to the ordained ministry then we would begin the process of testing application. We wouldn't bar him or her simply because they were homosexual.

"As far as blessing same sex relationships, we have clearly stated that it would be quite premature to move formally to authorise any such liturgies of the blessing of same sex relationships.

"But we recognise that in pastoral situations that there may be a response by a priest to a homosexual couple to offer a prayer of blessing. Now that's not a public service, that's not officially authorised."

In another interview the Bishop said the Scottish Episcopal Church had always been "open and welcoming".

But it had not yet gone as far as consecrating a gay bishop.

"What we have simply argued for in this is that we do continue the debate across differences," he said.

He accepted there was opposition to ordaining homosexual priests. But he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme: "Our last paragraph in the statement values the presence of both those who are of homosexual orientation and those whose theology and stance may be critical of the position we seem to be in. And we rejoice in both."

The Rev David McCarthy, rector of St Silas Church in Glasgow, said he had concerns about the statement.

"We may have some difficulties from here on in I think," he said.

"This is now seen as the public stance of the Scottish Episcopal Church, which of course it isn't."

Mr Carthy said the statement had been carefully crafted to keep everyone on board.

But he warned: "If we align ourselves with the north American church and the stance they have taken, I think we may find ourselves becoming something of a sect."

Father Richard Jenkins, director of Affirming Catholicism, a progressive-thinking Anglican organisation co-founded by Rowan Williams in the 1990s, believes it is a positive step.

He said: "What the Scottish Episcopal Church has done does not go beyond what the Anglican communion has already agreed. I think it is a progressive statement nonetheless.

"What they are doing is being really honest about where they stand.

"They are being really honest in saying that they respect and value the integrity and gifts of lesbian and gay people in and around the church.

"We all know that there have been gay priests in history, some celibate and holy and some not celibate and still holy.

"The Scottish Episcopal Church is just recognising that lesbian and gay people are made in God's image and have gifts to share."