There can be no place at all for homophobia in the church, the
Archbishop of Canterbury elect, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, has said in his
first major statement since the announcement of his appointment.
The current Bishop of Durham strongly supports women bishops, but has
so far been opposed to same-sex marriage. But his comments were
positive about civil partnerships, and the responsibility of the state
to decide about authorising such partnerships.
He indicated that he will listen and reflect on issues that have been
dividing opinion painfully in the Church of England and within the
worldwide Anglican Communion.
He declared in his opening statement at a press conference at Lambeth
Palace this morning: "We .. face deep differences over the issue of
sexuality. It is absolutely right for the state to define the rights and
status of people co-habiting in different forms of relationships,
including civil partnerships. We must have no truck with any form of
homophobia, in any part of the church."
He added: "I know I need to listen very attentively to the LGBT
communities, and examine my own thinking prayerfully and carefully. I am
always averse to the language of exclusion, when what we are called to
is to love in the same way as Jesus Christ loves us. Above all in the
church we need to create safe spaces for these issues to be discussed
honestly and in love."
Though a strong evangelical, Bishop Welby was described today by the
Dean of Manchester Cathedral, Michael Sadgrove, as belonging to "a more
holistic, more catholic world.”
Bishop Welby says he wants "the church to be a place where we can
disagree in love, respecting each other deeply as those who belong to
Christ."
As Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has an opportunity to
"witness boldly to God’s love for all, including LGBT people, the
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement commented today.
"Church involvement has been falling in recent decades and, for some
people, unjust treatment of LGBT people has been a factor," the movement
added.
In the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey, only 37 per cent of the
Anglicans who responded thought that same-sex relationships were always
(or almost always) wrong, while a 2012 YouGov survey found that 79 per
cent of British Anglicans aged 18-29 believe that same-sex relationships
are as valid as heterosexual ones.
Many Anglican theologians have argued the case for celebrating
same-sex partnerships, including Rowan Williams in his 1989 LGCM
lecture, The body’s grace, LGCM pointed out - a point
emphasised by a new research paper from the Christian think-tank
Ekklesia, entitled 'Journey towards acceptance: theologians and same-sex
love', published last week.
However, when in office, archbishops have failed to acknowledge
publicly the strength of the case for greater inclusion, and this
failure has harmed LGBT people, their families and the church, said
LGCM.
"There is no denying that this is both a great opportunity and
serious challenge for Justin Welby. I hope and pray that unlike previous
archbishops, Justin will have the courage and fortitude to make the
long overdue changes needed to help both the Church of England and the
Anglican Communion truly live the full inclusivity of the gospel of
Christ,’ said the Rev Sharon Ferguson, chief executive of LGCM and a
minister of the Metropolitan Community Church.