Haroon Siddique. Guardian 9 July 2014
Chaplain accuses Church of England of homophobia – Guardian
3 thoughts on “Chaplain accuses Church of England of homophobia – Guardian”
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Haroon Siddique. Guardian 9 July 2014
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Jeremy was surely wrong to call the Church of England “homophobic,” but blocking him from a chaplaincy may have been wrong as well. The two classic objections to homosexual clergy have been– (a) their distinguishing practises are forbidden, and (b) their modeling of the creation mandates cannot be complete. The House of Bishops having acknowledged having homosexual clergy, some may feel that (a) still stands, others that it is moot. But although (b) could make sense in a parish setting, is it not a stretch to apply it to a hospital chaplaincy?
This is a sad situation. I personally entirely support same-sex partnership, but am far from convinced that same-sex marriage is right. While I would therefore like to see the Church of England move to allowing the blessing of gay partnerships, I feel that what Jeremy Pemberton is threatening to do is a case of trying to bully the church into accepting his views.
There is too much bullying from both sides on this issue – there is sometimes vile homophobia from the one side, and on the other there are sometimes cases of bullying those who want to hold to a conservative position, (as seen e.g. in the recent episode of a firm under threat of legal action because of its refusal to produce a cake advocating gay marriage).
As this story develops,I feel the same inevitability as the accounts of the build up to world War One portray. Much more egg heading for the face of the Church.