The mitre! (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
Moving on:
Some of my best friends are gay.
No injustice with separate but equal.
This is the way we've always done it.
ABY says:
I believe that marriage is the bedrock of society. It is a gift from God in Creation. It has a public element, a public commitment made to one another and to the community. For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. Already in marriage, there are the ingredients of stability that children are looking for.What about divorce? I see a lot of that around.
Now what you should do is click the link to read the entire response, however, if you are pressed for time, you can take my word for it that I've given you the gist of the message. If you read the ABY's words and disagree with my shorter version, feel free to correct me.
This thing is an election manifesto - covering his butt to smooth his nomination to Canterbury. Was heartened to see that while one of the two bishops elected to the "search committee" is Carlisle, a hidebound Evangelical, the other is Gloucester who, you may recall, allows trans-Atlantic bishopesses to wear their mitres in his cathedral. The Welsh-primate, who recently came out quite strongly pro-gay, is the Communion Primates' representative on the nominations committee.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of the bishop of Gloucester, this BBC news clip on his burgeoning duties is a revealing pointer as to where gays currently stand in the C of E's order of things
Who will be surprised that the good bishop is assigned to toilet duty after allowing a bishopress to wear her mitre?
ReplyDeleteAh the Lord of York...let him stay at Bishopthorpe!
ReplyDeleteLen, my thought exactly, except I didn't think in poetry. :-)
ReplyDeleteHello Grandmère, have you followed the conversation on Bishop Alans' FB page responding to this? I joined in late in the day but have found it interesting, 200+ comments now.
ReplyDeleteNeal, I can't say I read all 200+ comments. It's difficult coming in late on such a long discussion. Are you surprised that I agree with yours, Alan's, and Erika's comments, which I did make a point to read and even 'Like' sometimes. Along with Alan, I wonder why straight folks care so about stopping a law that would not apply to them. And the consummation discussion does seem to veer into what I think of as an obsession with gay sex in some straight folks. Of course, that's just my opinion. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe other thing about this "children need (straight) married parents" is that it completely ignores the fact that in Britain adoption and fostering are already legal and a lived reality for single people, gay people and partnered gay people.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, there's IVF, surrogacy and all kinds of other private arrangements for gay couples to have children of their own.
As well as people like me and Susan who have both had fully fledged families before we got together.
Stopping gay people from marrying will not change any of that.
Of course... he is right that the marriage vows can help to strengthen the commitment a couple makes and that they will therefore also benefit the children. I would have thought that this would then be an argument in favour of stabilising the many existing gay families with children.
Erika, the church should be leading the pack in offering equality in marriage to coules who are willing to pledge to be faithful and to care for each other, and, above all, to those who have already lived faithful and caring lives together for a period of time. Instead the CofE drags its feet and even campaigns to stop the civil authorities from granting marriage rights. It's shameful.
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