Thinking Anglicans

Hereford case: diocese issues statement

Updated Thursday morning

Statement from the Diocese of Hereford April 03rd 2007

“The Bishop of Hereford denies any unlawful discrimination and has acted in accordance with Church teaching in applying a standard of sexual practice that applied equally to heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and transsexual people and not on the orientation of any particular group. We expect the same sexual standards of behaviour from support ministers, or lay ministers, as we do of clergy. We will not comment further whilst the Employment Tribunal proceedings are continuing.”

Anni Holden, Director of Communications
The Diocesan Office, The Palace, Hereford HR4 9BL
Tel: 01432 373342 mobile 07889 186316
a.holden@hereford.anglican.org
www.hereford.anglican.org

Updates
Wednesday morning press reports:
Press Association Bishop accused of discrimination

Wednesday afternoon press reports:
Press Association Bishop denies discrimination
Hereford Times Bishop gives evidence
BBC Bishop faces gay claim tribunal

PA reports:

Bishop Priddis said at a staff meeting on July 19 last year, following the interview process for the youth worker position, he learnt that Mr Reaney had indicated on his application form that he was gay.

He said he subsequently decided to call Mr Reaney in for a discussion during which it emerged that he had not long come out of a five-year homosexual relationship.

The Bishop said he concluded that Mr Reaney was not emotionally in a position to be making promises about his behaviour for the future. “Such sexuality in itself was not an issue but Mr Reaney’s lifestyle had the potential to impact on the spiritual, moral and ethical leadership within the diocese.,” said Bishop Priddis.

He said he made it quite clear to Mr Reaney that a person in a committed sexual relationship outside of marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would also be turned down for the job, which he said was a key appointment within the diocese.

The Bishop said this view on sex outside of marriage was reinforced by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the General Synod, the national assembly of the Church of England, and the Lambeth Conference, which is a meeting of the archbishops and bishops of the Anglican Communion every ten years.

The tribunal heard the job was not offered to anyone else after Bishop Priddis vetoed the appointment.

After highlighting the limited finances of his diocese, Bishop Priddis said: “Even had Mr Reaney been appointed last summer, there would have been the possibility of him being made redundant and that could have happened sooner rather than later.”

Under cross-examination from Mr Reaney’s barrister, Sandhya Drew, Bishop Priddis denied he had breached the equal opportunity policy of his own diocese.

He said: “The Church’s teachings draws distinction between sexual orientation and practice and lifestyle.

“We didn’t discriminate against Mr Reaney on the grounds of sexuality. Had we done so we wouldn’t have called him for an interview.”

Wednesday evening:
BBC Bishop denies gay discrimination
Daily Mail/Evening Standard Why I barred gay worker, by the bishop:

… Mr Reaney said he had recently ended a five-year homosexual relationship and gave an undertaking that he would not have another.

But, said the bishop, giving evidence: “I had my misgivings. If he had remained celibate it would have satisfied this issue. The question was, did I have good reason for believing that was his position, and my conclusion was: no.”

Thursday morning
Church Times Bill Bowder (written before the hearing yesterday) Tribunal case after bishop blocks job for youth worker

…Mr Reaney was an experienced youth worker when he applied for the post. The Norwich diocese had employed him as a youth officer for four years. He left to go to the diocese of Chester in 2001 with good references, a diocesan spokeswoman said.

A Chester diocesan spokesman said that Mr Reaney had spent a year as a youth officer in the diocese and that his work had been “successful”. Asked whether Mr Reaney’s sexuality had been discussed in any public fora, the spokesman said: “That was not an issue with us.” It was an issue arising in another diocese, he said.

Peter Ball, the Church of England’s national youth officer, who wrote a reference for Mr Reaney for the Hereford post, said on Monday that he had written it “on the basis of his capability to do the job. He is a good person to do the job.” Mr Ball would make no further comment, as he was directly involved in the tribunal proceedings, which he was due to attend on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Sue Johns, a General Synod representative for the Norwich diocese, said that she was also attending as a witness for Mr Reaney. “I had experience of his ministry in Norwich diocese, which was quite amazing,” she said.

“He was immensely gifted with young people and he brought many young people to faith. He engaged them, enlivened them, and energised them. He set up a diocesan youth synod in the 1990s. He left because he came from the north of England, and he saw a job in Chester diocese, which was closer to home.”

The Times David Sanderson Gay man’s lifestyle made him unfit for post, insists bishop

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Robert
Robert
16 years ago

Does the Diocese of Hereford employment application ask heterosexuals for the names and genders of persons that they have slept with over the past 5 years? Does it ask them if they intend in the near future to have sex with anyone? If not, then the same standards are definitely not being applied to heterosexuals as are apparently applied to homosexual persons.

Merseymike
Merseymike
16 years ago

And this simply isn’t true – talk about moving the goalposts. There are plenty of openly gay lay readers in relationships and people in relationships working within the church bureaucracy.

Not to mention all the closeted gay vicars…all celibate, of course!

In any case, I am sure that the exemptions did not set the boundaries this wide. It was a way of ensuring they could continue to bar gay people from the clergy.

Pluralist
16 years ago

It would be more honest if the statement said they did apply different standards as they were able to do so – surely that is the basis of this change of decision regarding the employment of this chap. Sounds to me like this defence is an own goal to start with.

Dennis
16 years ago

hopefully the employment tribunal will see right through this.

And one would expect Christian leaders to be more honest.

Andy
Andy
16 years ago

This is the crux of the matter. Is it discrimination on the basis of orientation if you discriminate based on conduct or intended conduct?

Fr Joe O'Leary
16 years ago

Unmistakable whiff of pharisaism.

NP
NP
16 years ago

Is it not the case that this man is being honest and carrying out the agreed position of the CoE?

Is not “don’t ask, don’t tell” hypocrisy? Would we really prefer that dishonest attitude?

Hope to see the ABC back this faithful person

Christopher Shell
Christopher Shell
16 years ago

Supposing that there are openly/active gay people in office, that leads to the question not ‘why can’t there be more?’ but ‘how did they come to be there in the first place, given that in most denominations, and in foundational christianity, this would be unthinkable?’. By Merseymike’s ‘argument’, someone who is nabbed for peddling drugs could plead: ‘well, there are already a lot of people dealing drugs openly, and no-one has said anything to them’. On this ‘basis’ they should be let off to peddle more drugs. This is another confusion of ‘ought’ and ‘is’, morals and mores. That is… Read more »

Weiwen
16 years ago

NP, it’s pretty likely that you’ll get your wish (ABC backing +whatshisname). ++Rowan will catch even more flak than he is catching now, though. it’s not 100% clear that the Bishop of Hereford is carrying out the agreed position of the CoE. as I understand things, the CoE would do this for clergy and (unfortunately, imo) be perfectly justified. however, Reany was applying for a lay position. he was also approved by the panel that he interviewed with (so it seems). it’s not easy to muster much sympathy for the Bishop’s position, and it does seem to be more his… Read more »

choirboyfromhell
choirboyfromhell
16 years ago

So if a person tells the truth, they get sacked (or denied the job in this case), if they lie, they get nailed. What was that famous quote about scoundrels hiding behind the letter of the law? Oh, Mark 7:6, and if you read it right, both sides can claim this. I must admit that it does not look good for the applicant however, as the position was never offered, so discrimination will be hard to prove. Is there such a thing in C of E canon law as “discovery”? I think that many would like to see what questions… Read more »

Robert
Robert
16 years ago

NP, I don’t disagree with your observation about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy being hypocritical. But if you apply that policy in general to heterosexual job applicants and not to certain “suspect” homosexual job applicants, you certainly have discrimination. As for the ABC, I would love to see him take a public position on this case, but he probably will want to study it for a while–maybe it will go away, eh?

Cynthia
Cynthia
16 years ago

“… it emerged that he had not long come out of a five-year homosexual relationship. “The Bishop said he concluded that Mr Reaney was not emotionally in a position to be making promises about his behaviour for the future. “Such sexuality in itself was not an issue but Mr Reaney’s lifestyle had the potential to impact on the spiritual, moral and ethical leadership within the diocese.,” said Bishop Priddis.” SO – the applicant is not in a relationship. Has left a five year relationship. The BISHOP thinks he’s not emotionally in a position to be making promisess … Did the… Read more »

drdanfee
drdanfee
16 years ago

Well if the CoE standard is now to internally hunt down and dismiss all who do not strictly meet Lambeth 1.10 celibacy standards apart from marriage – but then what to make of civil partnerships? – at least we shall finally know just what sort of lines are being drawn in just what sorts of sand. Bravo conservative realignment of all Anglicans. If we could only see more policing in our church life, we would all be so much the better for all of it. I strongly suggest that only married believers be allowed to join the new Anglican sex… Read more »

Simon Dawson
Simon Dawson
16 years ago

Andy asked “This is the crux of the matter. Is it discrimination on the basis of orientation if you discriminate based on conduct or intended conduct?” This to me is clearly discrimination on grounds of orientation. The Bishop saw that the applicant was gay, and called him in for detailed questioning on his sexual life. The decision to call him on was based not on conduct, but on orientation. I think it would only not be discrimination based on orientation if the bishop called in EVERY new appointee in the diocese, gay and straight, married and single, to question them… Read more »

Caliban
Caliban
16 years ago

Given the position of the CofE in this country at present, I would not think that the Church would want to narrow down the pool of prospective young talent available to it any further than absolutely necessary. If it is now the Church’s position that only married people or confirmed celibates will be able to take up lay positions, the already-shallow pool of youthful enthusiasm in the Church will shrivel into a murky puddle. God help me, I can already feel my passion for the Church of my baptism ebbing every time an English bishop opens his mouth.

Pluralist
16 years ago

Yah, this non-discriminatory policy – everyone to be assessed for whether they are bonking outside of marriage: what a fantastic line of questioning in interviews. Christopher Shell – no equivalence between gay relationships meaning love and faithfulness and peddling drugs. Honestly. If this is where it is at… Oh add it to the questioning? Have you had or likely to have sex outside of marriage? Have you ever peddled or likely to peddle drugs? Have you just emerged from a long term relationship and cannot give commitments to anything? Has this line of questioning assisted destroying your sense of ethical… Read more »

NP
NP
16 years ago

drdanfee / Cynthia – maybe it is not about persecuting anyone – maybe it is about being faithful to the scriptures?

So,the man would have found the same response if he had been living with a woman who was not his wife for 5 years….

Merseymike
Merseymike
16 years ago

The point is that they may not be able to do this – its a question of exactly what jobs have the same conditions attached to them as do clergy.

The previous judgment suggested they were limited – essentially to clergy and similar roles which are themselves clearly defined.

However, I would seriously question whether gay people would now wish to have anything to do with the CofE in any case.

Laurence Roberts
Laurence Roberts
16 years ago

Yes this sounds like the completely shambolic and and unprofessional C of E for which I worked for many years. I was honest then, as I am now about having a loving relationship and partnership. It was no problem for the then Bishop of Southwark, the Southwark DDO., or the PP where I served my title. Subsequently, I was open at every application and interview for a C of E post. (It’s rather hard to hide one’s family — and who would want to ?). That was years ago in ‘the bad old days’; and then and now, there was… Read more »

choirboyfromhell
choirboyfromhell
16 years ago

NP: “So,the man would have found the same response if he had been living with a woman who was not his wife for 5 years….”

Except that man had the option of marriage.

Craig Nelson
16 years ago

I had thought not to comment on the case until the judgement was rendered cos obviously a lot of stuff – including legal arguments and so on. However I am (to put it mildly) astonished at the things the bishop is reporting himself to have said. That old canard about not discriminating against orientation rather than practice – you need to look up the law which specifies indirect as well as direct discrimination and that’s part and parcel of the law. Secondly I am shocked (to say the least) at the fact that a job was denied someone who appears… Read more »

Dennis
16 years ago

This bishop illustrates so much of what is wrong within Anglicanism. Not just the bigotry (which is bad enough) but the claim that their personal bias is somehow the norm, the standard of teaching of the church. It isn’t – but trying to defend one’s own bias and bigotry by claiming that “it is really Christianity that says this” is a lie about Christianity and an attack on our faith. This is what most disturbs me about the so-called “orthodox”: they have redefined our faith to match their own prejudices and in so doing have twisted the faith to be… Read more »

Tim
Tim
16 years ago

“a person in a committed sexual relationship outside of marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would also be turned down for the job,”

Given that there is no recognized marriage for all but the first listed orientations, this boils down exactly to discrimination.

Pluralist
16 years ago

Is there an Anglican version of the CRB (super) enhanced disclosure? As well as searching out any criminal record, cautions or up and coming cases, it can add any history of having sex outside of marriage, including inside Civil Partnership. So let’s add this through the keyhole stuff.

(Oh, as marriage and Civil Partnership have equality in the law, that makes ‘marriage only’ discriminatory in terms of employment).

Hugh of Lincoln
Hugh of Lincoln
16 years ago

This case exposes the C of E’s anomalous distinction between “orientation” and “practice”. We generally define our sexuality according to the physical and emotional bonds we form with another person of the same or opposite sex. For the majority of people, and indeed the law of the land, there is no difference between orientation and practice. The church’s policy is cruel, leading to humiliating and intrusive questioning such as has been experienced by the claimant, and to outright discrimination. The key phrase used by the respondent is “a person in a committed sexual relationship outside of marriage… would also be… Read more »

Etheldreda
16 years ago

At last – a Bishop who has the courage to apply uniformly the official teaching of the Church of England on extra marital relations.

JCF
JCF
16 years ago

What a disgusting *inquisition*: how can the Bp of Hereford live with himself?

>:-0

Lord have mercy!

Göran Koch-Swahne
16 years ago

“a person in a committed sexual relationship outside of marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would also be turned down for the job,” The key word in this phrase obviously is “sexual”. Remove it: “a person in a committed relationship outside of marriage, whether they were heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or transgender, would also be turned down for the job,” and you get a very different thing… So Ethelreda, show us the good Bishop has done that! Names and dates. (oh! how I long for the good old days when thhis sort of thing was only seen on… Read more »

NP
NP
16 years ago

Well done, Goran – you are right, if you remove a word from a sentence, it can indeed change the meaning.

Göran Koch-Swahne
16 years ago

Maybe you should read the sentence NP, not just be funny about it.

Martin Reynolds
Martin Reynolds
16 years ago

I have spent the day (Wednesday) listening to the Bishop of Hereford give his account of why he refused to employ John Reaney as the diocese’s youth officer and apparently it’s all John Reaney’s fault. Several times under direct and cross examination the bishop appeared to be flummoxed by the fact that Mr Reaney had written TWO paragraphs mentioning his sexuality on his application form for the job. This matter became so much of a puzzle for the bishop that eventually the tribunal’s chair intervened to offer the bishop a careful explanation that in fact Mr Reaney was accounting for… Read more »

NP
NP
16 years ago

Goran – you’re not making a useful or intelligent point.

Martin – do you prefer the dishonest “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy adopted by some?
Does it have any integrity?

Merseymike
Merseymike
16 years ago

Surely the point is that the CofE have no right to demand this stipulation of anyone other than clergy?

If they can, then they simply prove themselves to be the homophobes we should by now know that they are.

Christopher Shell
Christopher Shell
16 years ago

Hi Martin-
Surely a minimum Christian requirement would be that Mr Reaney renounce his former behaviour, which was not a blip but a settled lifestyle? It’s not clear that he has done so.

Erika Baker
Erika Baker
16 years ago

Christopher,
I thought the purity laws apply to behaviour, not to thinking. If this man promised to obey the church teachings it doesn’t actually matter whether he personally agreed that they were right.

Personally speaking, coldly renouncing a whole 5 years of loving relationship is the most appallingly cruel thing anyone can do to a former partner and should disqualify them from any position of trust forever.

A minimum Christian requirement would be to trust Mr Reaney’s assurances.
Or do we all have to be clones to be accepted into your church? No wonder that ever fewer want to!

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