Church Of England Approves Church Blessings For Gay Couples.

  The Archbishop Of Canterbury
Gay couples should be allowed to have their relationships blessed in church, the Church of England said yesterday. Bishops should lift their official ban on ceremonies to mark civil partnerships and the relationships of gay and lesbian churchgoers, a long-awaited CofE report said. It signalled an end to the Church’s longstanding insistence that gay relationships are sinful and less worthy than heterosexual marriage. The report, written by former civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling and a team of senior churchmen and women, may now open the way for a reversal of the CofE’s opposition to same-sex marriage and the eventual appointment of actively homosexual priests and bishops.
It was published seven months after the Church first indicated it is looking at ‘accommodations’ for same-sex couples and four months after the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, told Church leaders that ‘we must accept there is a revolution in the area of sexuality.’ Current CofE guidance laid down by bishops forbids priests to conduct same-sex blessing services. Nevertheless, some estimates say 200 such services a year are carried out in Anglican churches. Bishops could permit gay blessing services simply by changing their guidelines. Their first opportunity to do so will come at meetings next month and in January. In a series of calls for new thinking, the report said the Church should show ‘real repentance for the lack of welcome and acceptance extended to homosexual people in the past’. However, it added: ‘No-one should be accused of homophobia solely for articulating traditional Christian teaching on same-sex relationships.’ The report suggested that the Bible does not condemn homosexuality and said no-one should teach that it does. It also warned that liberal attitudes to homosexuality in western countries can cause trouble in countries where Christians are vulnerable to attack.
Congregations in countries like Nigeria and Pakistan, where homosexuality is universally condemned by Muslims, have been subjected to violence in recent years. The report said: ‘It is important, for some a matter of life and death, that the Church and church people speak with great care and attentiveness to how their words will be received, not only in their own culture but in cultures where Christians are marginalised. The story too long oh. Nnkan Be.
DM.