Thinking Anglicans

more rumours about Pilling

Jonathan Petre has a report in the Mail on Sunday which directly contradicts the previous rumours.

See ‘Don’t make gay vicars promise not to have sex’: Church of England bishops say civil partners should not be treated any differently than other clerics

A panel of bishops is set to spark a fresh row over homosexuality by paving the way for the Church of England to relax its stance on gay clergy.

Sources said the group will recommend that clerics wanting to enter civil partnerships should no longer have to promise their bishops that they will abstain from sex.

Four bishops have been examining the Church’s teaching on sexuality as part of an official commission and will hand over their conclusions in a report to the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby next month.

They will argue that gay clergy should not be treated any differently than other clerics who do not face intrusive questioning about their sex lives – and that they should be able to follow Church teachings without having to make a solemn vow…

Comments about this have been made by Peter Ould and by Colin Coward.

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Richard Ashby
Richard Ashby
10 years ago

I do wish this silly speculation would stop. Some people are playing games for their own purposes. Clearly no ones knows anything yet.

BTW ‘issues’ was only ever a discussion document which has got elevated into church teaching. Disowned by its principal author it has been given an authority it never should have had. It is high time it was buried.

Martin Reynolds
Martin Reynolds
10 years ago

Very dubious reporting following very dubious gossip. Sad that Pilling has not already been repudiated by those gay individuals and groups who were persuaded to take part. It is a moral and tactical error. I am also sad to report that the Church in Wales bench of bishops rejected an appeal to include openly gay people in the group they have appointed to consider gay things. In an implicit attack on the way the Pilling group had been made up the Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan said that had the Welsh Doctrinal Commission been formed solely to discuss gay matters then… Read more »

peterpi - Peter Gross
peterpi - Peter Gross
10 years ago

Richard Ashby, this does sound like the media stirring the pot to keep it boiling. Something that would “never” cross their minds, I’m sure.
While it’s great that some bishops may be arguing that gay clergy in civil-sanctioned relationships should be treated no differently than other clergy, whole religious movements have been created on the disparate treatment of gays — and women — and others. If not for such a desire to treat gays and women differently, I daresay GAFCON would cease to exist, or would have to focus on real Global South issues.

Erika Baker
Erika Baker
10 years ago

” rather than co-opting people for a particular discussion and then having to unco-opt them when they move on to another topic.”

One could, of course, assume that the church has gay members who are also qualified to speak on baptism and confirmation.
Being straight doesn’t seen to disqualify the others from sitting on the Doctrinal Commission.

Father Ron Smith
Father Ron Smith
10 years ago

“Being straight doesn’t seem to disqualify the others from sitting on the Doctrinal Commission.”
– Erika –

Doesn’t that depend on the opinion of whoever gets to choose the membership of the Commission? If being an honest Gay prevents a person from being a bishop in the Church, what makes you think, Erika, that an openly-Gay person would ever get to be on the doctrinal commission?

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