Updated
The supplementary questions and answers have now been transcribed from the audio recording.
All the Questions can be read in this file.
Answers were given to all these (except some that were for Written Reply only) during the Monday evening session.
Several questions were asked about the Pilling report, to which the Archbishop of Canterbury made replies.
The Very Revd Andrew Nunn (Southwark) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q39. When will the report of the group chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling be published?
Answer: Soon.
Dean of Southwark: And I appreciate the economy of that answer. But given that the report is potentially so important for the life and mission of the church, how soon?
Archbishop of Canterbury: I can confirm that the Pilling group has completed its work as you say in the… as we all know. Synod members may be reassured that “soon” means “not very long” or “fairly imminently”, but not “very soon”.
Mr Gerald O’Brien (Rochester) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q40. Will the House of Bishops give Synod an assurance that when the Pilling Report is published, it will carry a suitably prominent statement to the effect that any proposals or recommendations the report contains are not the official position of the Church of England unless and until they are endorsed by a vote of the General Synod?
The Revd John Cook (Oxford) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q41. Can the Synod be assured that, if the House of Bishops having considered the Pilling Report are minded to make any changes to the Church of England‟s position on human sexuality, it will ensure Synod is given an opportunity to debate these matters before any changes are brought into effect?
The Revd Jonathan Frais (Chichester) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q42. Given General Synod’s resolution of 1987 saying that adultery, fornication and homosexual acts are to be met with “a call to repentance”, what steps will be taken to make clear that the Pilling Report, when it is published, has not replaced this stance unless and until the General Synod itself so resolves?
Answer to questions 40. 41, and 42:
I can confirm that the Pilling Report will be a document which will offer findings and recommendations from the members of the group for the Church of England to consider. It will not be a new policy statement from the Church of England. That will be made quite clear when the Report is published.
It is premature at this stage to speculate about any decision making process at the end of the period of discussion and reflection initiated by the report’s publication. Who has the authority nationally to determine any particular issue in the Church of England always depends on the nature of the decision. Clearly if there were any question of looking again at the motion passed by the Synod in 1987 that would be a matter for the Synod.
Mr John Ward: Given our useful discussions on Saturday in York last July, before any vote by the General Synod on Pilling, would the House encourage the Business Committee to find time for facilitated discussions on this subject?
Archbishop of Canterbury: Thank you Mr O’Brien [sic] that’s a very helpful suggestion, and I am sure the House will consider it.
WRITTEN REPLY
Mrs Penelope Allen (Lichfield) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q43. Is the House considering tasking the Liturgical Commission with the preparation of suitable liturgy for the blessing of civil partnerships in church?
Answer: No.
WRITTEN REPLY
Mrs Penelope Allen (Lichfield) to ask the Chair of the House of Bishops:
Q44. What progress has been made by the group established by the House to advise it on human sexuality in producing its report and, when it is produced, is it intended that it should be the subject of debate at the same time as the private member’s motions on the Public Doctrine of Christian Marriage and Registration of Civil Partnerships?
Answer: The Pilling Group has now completed its work. Its report will be published soon. It will be for the House of Bishops and the Business Committee to consider how best the report might be handled synodically given the motions already awaiting debate. Both bodies meet next month.
“Q43. Is the House considering tasking the Liturgical Commission with the preparation of suitable liturgy for the blessing of civil partnerships in church?
Answer: No.”
Quite clearly, then, there is no concession being made to the possibility of providing a service for Same-Sex Blessings, which might just have averted the call for Same-sex Marriage, How helpful is this, in the light of the current situation?
This certainly could evoke a call for Same-Sex Marriage by members of the G.S., later on.
“The Revd Jonathan Frais (Chichester)… Q42. Given General Synod’s resolution of 1987 saying that adultery, fornication and homosexual acts are to be met with “a call to repentance”, what steps will be taken to make clear that the Pilling Report, when it is published, has not replaced this stance unless and until the General Synod itself so resolves?”
Oh dear. I’m just an Ignorant Yank, but appears to me that the “let’s drive the CofE into oblivion” caucus is being heard from here. Kyrie eleison.
Of course, for certain synod members, lay and clerical, the fact that Chichester diocese has the largest concentration of gltb people in the country outside London, is completely irrelevant to their mission. Don’t they know that the world has changed in the past 36 years, and so should the church.
I see from the self-titled ‘Anglican Mainstream’ web-site, that they are still trotting out the old controversies about gays being ‘cured’ of their sexual-orientation. This is so out of kilter with reality that someone should alert them to the danger of offering false hope to young people who still feel they are not part of the real world because of their difference in sexual attraction. What such people need is encouragement into a proper and healthy self-esteem, not further guilt trips.