At Ekklesia there is some analysis of what Rowan Williams said on Tuesday, in Archbishop says sorry to gays but defends Church’s discrimination.
In Cif: belief Savi Hensman gets more explicit: Rowan’s apology falls short.
And, I wrote a piece for Cif:belief which is headlined Rowan’s speech and the equality bill.
Also, Kelvin Holdsworth has written Still Shocking.
Oh dear RW. We are never going to get past our impasse on queer folks in global Anglican church life until/unless we confront and work through the flat earthisms which are the core of our negative legacies about queer folks. Sidestepping to stay together seems like a strategy; but in the long run simply will not do. Further, the technical paths laid out as unity preserved simply presume that unity in this negative flat earth conformity will presume engagement – with the very queer folks and allies who are the identified targets of these nasty beliefs and immorality tags. Yet… Read more »
Simon, it looks as though the Church of England wants to be able to fire the parish bookkeeper after all, if there are whispers that she is living with another woman.
As a resident in another EU member state (Finland), I am profoundly puzzled how this legislation is being seen as so far-reaching in the UK, whereas I am not aware of any equivalent debate going on elsewhere in Europe – certainly not here. The substantive issue should be essentially the same in all member states – and, surely, will be especially problematic for the Roman and Orthodox churches, as well as many Evangelical ones – yet the only place where I have heard of any debate of this specific nature is in the UK. This makes me suspect that the… Read more »
Whatever we may think about Rowan’s Opening words at the General Synod, even his most ardent critic must give him some credit for the outcome of the P.M.M. regarding pension rights for same-sex clergy partners. His belated apology to LGBT persons must have helped members of the Synod to at least consider the financial plight of the survivors of homosexual partnerships, and vote accordingly. Yes, Archbishop Rowan did not immediately open the doors to a full discussion in the Church of England on human rights and on the theological justification for gay and lesbian clergy, but what he did say… Read more »