Anglican church to debate same-s*x marriage today
The Church of England will on Wednesday debate contentious plans enabling priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples, amid deep Anglican divisions over the issue in Britain and beyond.
Hundreds of members of the General Synod — the Church’s elected governing body, which meets two or three times a year — will discuss and vote on the proposals unveiled last month by bishops.
There is no change to rules banning Anglican priests from officiating at weddings of same-s*x couples. But under the proposals, they could offer “God’s blessing” for civil marriages or civil partnerships in a church.
In an open letter, bishops also issued an unprecedented apology directly to LGBTQ people last month for the sometimes “hostile and homophobic response” they have faced in parishes.
The steps follow nearly six years of internal debate, but have sparked criticism from both those who support and oppose same-s*x marriage, as global fractures within Anglicanism surface.
A Synod member and LGBTQ campaigner, Jayne Ozanne, issued a stinging condemnation of the belated apology.
“We’ve had years of apologies from our bishops but no action,” she told AFP, ahead of Wednesday’s five-hour scheduled debate.
“It’s like an abusive relationship where someone keeps hitting you and then says ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’.
“Until the discrimination and the abuse stop, we don’t want to hear more empty words. We need action first.”
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