Archbishop says gay marriage could split church
THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Anglican Church has likely caused 鈥済reat harm鈥� to gay people in the past but any attempt to legitimise same-sex marriage could tear the community apart.
The comments, published over Easter, came just days after a Church of England priest wedded his male partner.
Archbishop Justin Welby (pictured), head of the Church of England and a figurehead for Anglicans worldwide, admitted the church had not stood up for LGBTI people in the past.
鈥淲e are struggling with the reality that there are different groups around the place that the church can do 鈥� or has done 鈥� great harm to,鈥� he told Britain鈥檚 Telegraph newspaper.
鈥淵ou look at some of the gay, lesbian, LGBT groups in [Britain] and around the world 鈥� Africa included, actually 鈥� and their experience of abuse, hatred, all kinds of things.鈥�
However, there are strong signals that any move by the Church of England to recognise same-sex marriage could lead many African churches to split with Canterbury.
Last month, Uganda鈥檚 Anglican Archbishop, Stanley Ntagali, said homosexuality was 鈥渋ncompatible with scripture,鈥� and said if the Church of England leadership gave ground on same-sex marriage, 鈥渨e shall have no choice but to be on our own.鈥�
Archbishop Welby said it was critical the church remained as one if it were to continue to help vulnerable people around the world.
鈥淚 do believe passionately that unity is something we have to maintain,” he said.
鈥淚 also believe that to take a step that means that people who desperately need our help 鈥� and who we can help 鈥� can鈥檛 take it, feel in their own culture that it is impossible to be helped by us, is something that we can鈥檛 easily do.”
Meanwhile, a gay priest from Lincolnshire, in eastern England, has become the first member of the clergy to take advantage of the UK鈥檚 new same-sex marriage laws.
Canon Jeremy Pemberton, a divorced hospital chaplain, wed his long-term partner Laurence Cunnington last week.
The couple, who would have been unable to marry at an Anglican church due to the Church of England being legally forbidden from performing ceremonies, also went against recently issued 鈥榩astoral guidance鈥� banning priests from wedding their same-sex partners.
Following the wedding, Pemberton tweeted that the ceremony had been 鈥渧ery moving and very happy.鈥�
(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
The leadership of the church are biblical idiots. Keeping racist, or homophobes in, for sake of unity, greatly damages the church. I mean being a coward is hardly Jesus like. It is a bit like Jesus saying sorry, I will change my religion, I am to scared. Where are the values if the church is to be a good place to dish out hate onto others? Our people are dying, how much worse does the leadership think it has to get?