Sometimes Episcopalians feel isolated as they move toward full inclusion of gays into the life of the Church. That feeling results from the mistaken notion that the Episcopal Church is alone in fully welcoming all people, regardless of gender orientation. At its General Synod next month, the Church of England will consider whether to extend full pension benefits to same-sex civil union partners of gay clergy. Presently, the Church of England permits gay clergy to enter into same-sex unions as long as the partners remain celibate. (For news releases and opinions on this, cf. CofE to vote on increasing gay partner benefits for clergy at the Episcopal Café).
The Church of England’s policy strikes me as foolish and hypocritical. Accepting civil partnerships for gay clergy while pretending that partners abstain from all sexual activity is a policy that sees only what it wants to see. I suspect that few couples – of any gender pairing – who deeply love one another and are in good physical health remain celibate for very long. The Church of England policy thus promotes mendacity and diminishes the integrity of the clergy and the Church.
Since the Church of England recognizes same-sex civil partnerships among the clergy, why not bless those relationships? Refusing to do so places those relationships in ecclesiastical limbo, which is probably the policy’s intent. The same state of limbo also applies to civil partnerships among the laity.
The Church of England by not forthrightly addressing the issue with ethical and liturgical consistency has avoided much of the furor that currently embroils the U.S. Episcopal Church. Consequently, the Church of England has preserved a greater degree of unity at a cost that burdens its gay clergy, a move that ignores Christ's call to minister to the outcast. (Needless to say, controversy about these issues nevertheless rages within the Church of England.)
Opponents of same sex relationships in Africa and elsewhere have seen through the Church of England’s hypocrisy, with some African bishops refusing to attend the last Lambeth gathering of bishops because of what they considered to be Archbishop Rowan Williams’ duplicitous stance, i.e., appearing to hold to a conservative line while failing to exercise conservative discipline within the Church of England. Proponents of same sex relationships also realize that attacking the Episcopal Church will gain them more media exposure than attacking the Church of England.
Christians in the Episcopal Church and elsewhere should seek to love fully and with integrity, accepting that the cost of love is often metaphorical if not literal crucifixion.
1 comments:
You are a radical. Needless to say your opinions may incite others against you but I find your openness as refreshing. Does falling on your own sword sound familiar? I think you are a small fish in a big pond as few others have written about their feelings on the subject.
I can understand the feelings other organizations and cultures have against gay relationships as it is their right to have those opinions. You could also say they discriminate against other individuals for other reasons and that is their right also. But to be so hypocritical as a Church and their top leadership is just wrong.
I stand by my feelings that gays are fine as long as they don't make a scene to show their affection. I say the same about heterosexuals. Take it inside.
I even agree with unions but not calling it marriage. Somehow marriage has a particular meaning that this old mind can not separate from today's interpretation. Those who are in a union should have the same privileges as those who are married. I just hope unions last longer than many marriages.
Post a Comment