Church of England kicks off synod

The Church of England kicked off its general synod meeting on Monday, February 13, days after a group of retired bishops accused church leaders of failing to seek the voices of gays and lesbians in their efforts to tackle homophobia.

The Church has come under pressure since the 14 former bishops published a letter on Feb. 10 criticising clergymen for lukewarm efforts on the issue.

“A recent Church of England report calling for a “change of tone and culture” to tackle ‘homophobic’ attitudes lacked sincerity and failed to include the opinions of gay or lesbian Church members.

“Our perception is that while the pain of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Tansgender people is spoken about in your report, we do not hear its authentic voice,’’ the bishops wrote.

The five-day conference in London would see the Church’s national assembly discuss administrative matters and social issues, including marriage and homosexuality.

Report says the Church of England does not accept same-sex marriage under its definition of the religious marital union, but allows clergy to provide informal prayers for gay marriages or civil partnerships.

The Church’s most recent report recommended that its guidance on marriage should be interpreted to provide “maximum freedom” for gay and lesbian people without changing the Church’s doctrine of marriage itself.

(Source: NAN)