Church of England bishops end resistance to equal marriage; Scottish Episcopal General Synod meets; Church of England criticises legal aid residency tests; New Bishop of Manchester
Church of England bishops end resistance to equal marriage
Ekklesia – Church of England bishops have given up trying to block equal marriage in England and Wales.
Though several spoke and voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in the House of Lords, this bid was heavily defeated. Many church members, including some bishops, support marriage equality, though others are strongly opposed.
“Both Houses of Parliament have now expressed a clear view by large majorities on the principle that there should be legislation to enable same-sex marriages to take place in England and Wales. It is now the duty and responsibility of the Bishops who sit in the House of Lords to recognise the implications of this decision and to join with other Members in the task of considering how this legislation can be put into better shape,” stated Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens. He convenes the bishops in the Lords.
He continued, “For the Bishops the issue now is not primarily one of protections and exemptions for people of faith, important though it is to get that right, not least where teaching in schools and freedom of speech are concerned. The Bill now requires improvement in a number of other key respects, including in its approach to the question of fidelity in marriage and the rights of children.”
The official church position has been that gender difference and procreation are central to marriage. But his statement seemed to recognise that the differences between same-sex and opposite-sex couples might not be quite so large: “If this Bill is to become law, it is crucial that marriage as newly defined is equipped to carry within it as many as possible of the virtues of the understanding of marriage it will replace. Our focus during Committee and Report stages in the coming weeks and months will be to address those points in a spirit of constructive engagement.”
David Walker, newly appointed as Bishop of Manchester (see report below) after serving in Dudley in the diocese of Worcester, commented that the Bill was flawed. However he said, “I fully understand why in a society where for so long gay people have been subjected to such abuse and ill treatment many people say if they are asking for equality in the area of marriage that is something they can get.
“So I can see why in our society many people now – the majority of people – think that if this will help them to feel less badly treated then let them have it.”
More at –
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/18501
The statement published above has been reported in the Telegraph by John Bingham in this way: Church of England gives up fight against gay marriage
The Church of England has effectively accepted defeat over gay marriage signalling that it will no longer fight against a change in the law.
In a short statement, the established Church said that the scale of the majorities in both the Commons and Lords made clear that it is the will of Parliament that same sex couples “should” be allowed to marry.
The Bishop of Leicester, who leads the bishops in the House of Lords, said they would now concentrate their efforts on “improving” rather than halting an historic redefinition of marriage.
It represents a dramatic change of tack in the year since the Church insisted that gay marriage posed one of the biggest threats of disestablishment of the Church of England since the reign of Henry VIII.
And it comes despite a warning from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, that the redefinition of marriage would undermine the “cornerstone” of society…
…And he [Bishop of Leicester] made clear that the bishops would look not only at strengthening opt-outs for those who oppose a new definition of marriage but at the future practicalities for people in same-sex unions.
He signalled that bishops would seek to introduce a notion of adultery into the bill and extend parental rights for same-sex partners.
Under the current bill people in a same-sex marriages who discover that their spouse is unfaithful to them would not be able to divorce for adultery after Government legal experts failed to agree what constitutes “sex” between gay or lesbian couples.
The bishops are also seeking to change a provision which says that when a lesbian woman in a same-sex marriage has a baby her spouse is not also classed as the baby’s parent.
The result is that in some cases children would be classed as having only one parent…
Scottish Episcopal General Synod meets
General Synod 2013 started with the Synod Eucharist during which the Most Rev David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church delivered his Synod Charge ), and spoke of the need to be both strategy-led and spirit-led.
The Primus then welcomed Ecumenical Delegates and guests to General Synod and then business got underway with the approval of the Minutes of General Synod 2012 and an overview of the Accounts, Budgets and Quota from Mr David Palmer, Convener of the Standing Committee. Mr Palmer outlined some of the issues that the Standing Committee had considered during 2012 including:
Maintaining an overview of the Whole Church Mission and Ministry Policy; Continuing to monitor the financial position of the General Synod and the budgeting process; following up the Pension Fund valuation, including the consultation within the Church to test affordability issues and take soundings on the possibility of changing the benefit structure. The Standing Committee agreed the revised Pension Fund Recovery Plan which was then submitted to the Pension Fund Regulator; it also agreed a revised De-Risking Investment Protocol which was proposed by the Pension Trustees and which is aimed at reducing exposure to stock market volatility. Additional online resources were provided for vestries through the SEC website and the Standing Committee considered and followed up the recommendations of the Organisation Review Committee, which advises on the planning and running of the General Synod. It oversaw the design of the 2012 Synod including the debate on the Anglican Covenant and followed up that debate by communicating the outcome of the discussion on the Covenant to the Anglican Communion Office and subsequently to the Anglican Consultative Council in Auckland, New Zealand; The Committee also considered the issue of ethical banking which led to the closure of the Synod’s account with Barclays Bank and opening an account with Triodos; and also started the follow up to the gender audit carried out previously.
The Standing Committee session continued with a presentation on Membership Statistics by the Most Rev David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church (PDF below) in which he said “We have to take membership figures seriously. In far too many situations, people have been complacent as if it was somehow unworthy to think about numbers. Numbers tell a story – they tell a number of stories. They tell the story of the challenge which faces institutional churches in a secular age. They tell the story of the challenge of building community in an age of individualism. They tell the story of the need for a quality of church life which addresses intentional congregation building”.
Church of England criticises legal aid residency tests
Christianity Today – The Church of England said legal should be available to all who need it
The Church of England has criticised Government proposals to introduce a 12-month residence test to determine whether people should receive legal aid.
In a submission to the Ministry of Justice consultation, the Church said the change could leave victims of human trafficking and domestic abuse, asylum seekers and prisoners with learning difficulties or mental health issues without access to legal aid.
“Our concern is that good legal advice and advocacy should be readily available to all who need it, especially those whose vulnerability places an obligation on society to ensure that they are not defenceless against unjust treatment by any person, organisation or agent of government,” the submission says.
It said the proposals would severely disadvantage human trafficking victims or immigrants who became victims of domestic violence at the hands of their partner. Immigrants held in detention centres would also be hindered in challenging their detention.
The Church went on to say that denying legal aid to asylum seekers until 12 months after they have been granted official asylum seeker status appears to contravene Article 16 of the Refugee Convention, which says they should be treated the same as nationals in relation to legal assistance.
The submission raises questions about the ability of prisoners to understand their human rights in prison, and whether there is sufficient support for prisoners with mental health issues or learning difficulties who wish to make a complaint but are unable to write it down. While the Ministry of Justice’s consultation suggests they convey it orally to a member of staff or seek help from a fellow prisoner, the Church of England says this contravenes Prison Service Instructions requiring that complaints are not seen by a member of staff directly involved with the prisoner.The Church also makes the point that prisoners may not feel able to seek help from inmates if they feel intimidated by them.
The submission says: “Given that these are the current arrangements in prisons, it is reasonable to expect that those who, especially through disability, are not able to formulate or write down their own complaints should have access to legal aid to make a complaint, including complaints about treatment.”
New Bishop of Manchester
The Queen has approved the nomination of the Right Reverend David Stuart Walker, MA, Suffragan Bishop of Dudley, for election as Bishop of Manchester in succession to the Right Reverend Nigel Simeon McCulloch, MA, on his resignation on 17 January 2013.
The Right Reverend David Walker (aged 56) studied theology at Queen’s College, Birmingham. He served his first curacy at St Mary Handsworth, Sheffield from 1983 to 1986. From 1986 to 1991 he was Team Vicar and Industrial Chaplain at Maltby Team Ministry, Sheffield. From 1991 to 1995 he was Vicar of Bramley and Ravenfield, Sheffield before becoming the Team Rector of Bramley and Ravenfield with Hooton Roberts and Braithwell. He was made Honorary Canon of Sheffield Cathedral in June 2000. Since 2000 he has been Suffragan Bishop of Dudley in the diocese of Worcester. He has held a number of significant governance roles within the social housing movement as well as serving on Equality and Diversity Panels for the Homes and Communities Agency and the National Policing Improvement Agency.
David Walker is married to Sue and they have two children. His interests include politics, cricket, rambling, mathematical puzzles, reading and communications. He is an active researcher, using statistical methods to investigate the beliefs and practices of churchgoers.