Welby tells Church of England refusing gay blessings will be viewed like racism
The Archbishop of Canterbury insists it is not 'wishy-washy' to accommodate people with different views as the Church of England grapples with homosexuality and women bishops
Justin Welby acknowledged that many Anglicans would view the idea of special services honouring same-sex relationships as a "betrayal" of its traditions and even "apostasy"
By John Bingham
THE TELEGRAPH http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
Feb. 12, 2014
The Archbishop of Canterbury has told the Church of England it may have to accept changes many members do not like for the sake of unity - as it prepares for a battle over wedding-like blessing services for gay couples.
The Most Rev Justin Welby acknowledged that many Anglicans would view the idea of special services honouring same-sex relationships as a "betrayal" of its traditions and even "apostasy".
But he warned that others would see the Church as increasingly "irrelevant" and promoting attitudes "akin to racism" if it does not introduce them.
In a personal address to the Church's decision-making General Synod, which is meeting in London, he urged members not to be afraid of "incoherence and inconsistency" in some cases and "untidy" arrangements to avoid splits.
He insisted that it was not "wishy-washy" to attempt to accommodate people with opposing views and said it was time for a massive "cultural change" in how it approaches disagreement.
He was speaking in the wake of a landmark vote intended to bring about an early resolution to the Church's decades-long wrangles over women bishops.
The breakthrough, which could lead to the first women bishops appointed this year, followed intensive mediation sessions behind-the-scenes.
They were overseen by The Archbishop's "Director of Reconciliation", Canon David Porter, a Belfast-born cleric who helped lay the groundwork for the Northern Ireland Peace Process by speaking directly to paramilitaries.
The Church is planning an even larger programme of mediation sessions to decide whether to implement the recommendations of a long-awaited report on sexuality.
A panel of bishops, chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling, a former Whitehall mandarin, recommended introducing special services for gay couples which would amount to weddings in all but name.
The Archbishop said the Church owed Sir Joseph and his panel a debt of gratitude despite the controversy.
"There is great fear among some, here and round the world, that that will lead to the betrayal of our traditions, to the denial of the authority of scripture, to apostasy, not to use too strong a word," he said.
"And there is also a great fear that our decisions will lead us to the rejection of LGBT people, to irrelevance in a changing society, to behaviour that many see akin to racism.
"Both those fears are alive and well in this room today.
"We have to find a way forward that is one of holiness and obedience to the call of God and enables us to fulfill our purposes.
"This cannot be done through fear. How we go forward matters deeply, as does where we arrive."
He said that the developing compromise deal on women bishops showed that it is possible for people with opposing beliefs to coexist without splitting.
"Yet what lies on that journey? Well, it is certainly an untidy church," he said.
"It has incoherence, inconsistency between dioceses and between different places.
"It's not a church that says we do this and we don't do that.
"It's a church that says we do this and we do that and actually quite a lot of us don't like that but we are still going to do it because of love.
"It's a church that speaks to the world and says that consistency and coherence is not the ultimate virtue; that is found in holy grace.
"A church that loves those with whom the majority deeply disagree is a church that will be unpleasantly challenging to a world where disagreement is either banned within a given group or removed and expelled."
He added: "Already I can hear the arguments being pushed back at me, about compromise, about the wishy-washiness of reconciliation, to quote something I read recently.
"But this sort of love, and the reconciliation between differing groups that it demands and implies, is not comfortable and soft and wishy-washy."
END
The Archbishop of Canterbury insists it is not 'wishy-washy' to accommodate people with different views as the Church of England grapples with homosexuality and women bishops
Justin Welby acknowledged that many Anglicans would view the idea of special services honouring same-sex relationships as a "betrayal" of its traditions and even "apostasy"
By John Bingham
THE TELEGRAPH http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/
Feb. 12, 2014
The Archbishop of Canterbury has told the Church of England it may have to accept changes many members do not like for the sake of unity - as it prepares for a battle over wedding-like blessing services for gay couples.The Most Rev Justin Welby acknowledged that many Anglicans would view the idea of special services honouring same-sex relationships as a "betrayal" of its traditions and even "apostasy".
But he warned that others would see the Church as increasingly "irrelevant" and promoting attitudes "akin to racism" if it does not introduce them.
In a personal address to the Church's decision-making General Synod, which is meeting in London, he urged members not to be afraid of "incoherence and inconsistency" in some cases and "untidy" arrangements to avoid splits.
He insisted that it was not "wishy-washy" to attempt to accommodate people with opposing views and said it was time for a massive "cultural change" in how it approaches disagreement.
He was speaking in the wake of a landmark vote intended to bring about an early resolution to the Church's decades-long wrangles over women bishops.
The breakthrough, which could lead to the first women bishops appointed this year, followed intensive mediation sessions behind-the-scenes.
They were overseen by The Archbishop's "Director of Reconciliation", Canon David Porter, a Belfast-born cleric who helped lay the groundwork for the Northern Ireland Peace Process by speaking directly to paramilitaries.
The Church is planning an even larger programme of mediation sessions to decide whether to implement the recommendations of a long-awaited report on sexuality.
A panel of bishops, chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling, a former Whitehall mandarin, recommended introducing special services for gay couples which would amount to weddings in all but name.
The Archbishop said the Church owed Sir Joseph and his panel a debt of gratitude despite the controversy.
"There is great fear among some, here and round the world, that that will lead to the betrayal of our traditions, to the denial of the authority of scripture, to apostasy, not to use too strong a word," he said.
"And there is also a great fear that our decisions will lead us to the rejection of LGBT people, to irrelevance in a changing society, to behaviour that many see akin to racism.
"Both those fears are alive and well in this room today.
"We have to find a way forward that is one of holiness and obedience to the call of God and enables us to fulfill our purposes.
"This cannot be done through fear. How we go forward matters deeply, as does where we arrive."
He said that the developing compromise deal on women bishops showed that it is possible for people with opposing beliefs to coexist without splitting.
"Yet what lies on that journey? Well, it is certainly an untidy church," he said.
"It has incoherence, inconsistency between dioceses and between different places.
"It's not a church that says we do this and we don't do that.
"It's a church that says we do this and we do that and actually quite a lot of us don't like that but we are still going to do it because of love.
"It's a church that speaks to the world and says that consistency and coherence is not the ultimate virtue; that is found in holy grace.
"A church that loves those with whom the majority deeply disagree is a church that will be unpleasantly challenging to a world where disagreement is either banned within a given group or removed and expelled."
He added: "Already I can hear the arguments being pushed back at me, about compromise, about the wishy-washiness of reconciliation, to quote something I read recently.
"But this sort of love, and the reconciliation between differing groups that it demands and implies, is not comfortable and soft and wishy-washy."
END
To which, we would add this:
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