The Church of England has stated that sex belongs only
within heterosexual marriage and that Christians in gay or straight civil
partnerships should be sexually abstinent.
Bishops have issued pastoral guidance in
response to the recent introduction to mixed-sex civil partnerships, which
says: “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and
a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for
sexual activity.”
The church “seeks to uphold that
standard” in its approach to civil partnerships, and “to affirm the value of
committed, sexually-abstinent friendships” within such partnerships.
It adds: “Sexual relationships outside
heterosexual marriage are regarded as falling short of God’s purpose for human
beings.”
The affirmation of traditional teaching
at a time when the church is undergoing a major review of sexuality and
marriage will delight conservatives.
The Civil Partnership Act came into
force in December 2005, allowing same-sex couples to acquire legal status and
rights in relation to property, inheritance and tax entitlement. In 2013,
same-sex marriage was legalised.
The C of E does not permit same-sex
marriage. It allows clergy to be in same-sex civil partnerships as long as they
are sexually abstinent.
After the supreme court ruled in 2018
that mixed-sex couples should also had the right to a civil partnership, the
law was amended. The first mixed-sex civil partnerships were registered last
month.
The Rev Dr Malcolm Brown, the C of E’s
director of mission and public affairs, said: “Civil partnership is not the
same as marriage, which is founded on the taking of solemn public vows and is
recognised in the church’s teaching as the only proper context for sexual
relationships.
“So, as with same-sex civil
partnerships, there is no formal service or blessing but clergy will, as
always, be encouraged to respond pastorally to couples wishing to formalise
their relationship in this way.”
This week the C of E House of Bishops
issued a new pastoral statement on civil partnerships, restating traditional
teaching on sex and marriage.
The bishops say that, unlike traditional
marriage vows, the legislation on civil partnerships “leaves entirely open the
nature of the commitment that members of a couple choose to make to each other
when forming a civil partnership. In particular, it is not predicated on the
intention to engage in a sexual relationship.
“Because of the ambiguity about the
place of sexual activity within civil partnerships of both sorts, and the
church’s teaching that marriage between a man and a woman is the proper context
for sexual intercourse, we do not believe it is possible for the church
unconditionally to accept civil partnerships as unequivocally reflecting the
teaching of the church.”
C of E clergy “should not provide
services of blessing for those who register a civil partnership”.
The church has been rocked by divisions
for decades on what it says about and how it deals with LGBT issues. It has
embarked on a large study of human sexuality, Living in Love and Faith, which
is due to be completed this year.
Many LGBT people within the church say
they have been made to feel unwelcome, and activists have campaigned for the
church to allow same-sex marriage and bless same-sex civil partnerships. Many
observers have attributed the church’s stark decline among young people to its
stance on LGBT issues.
Conservatives in the church are likely
to be heartened by the bishops’ statement, which concludes: “The church’s
teaching on sexual ethics remains unchanged.”
While upholding its position that
marriage is a lifelong union between a man and woman, the bishops say the
church seeks to “minister sensitively and pastorally to those Christians who conscientiously
decide to order their lives differently”.
Jayne Ozanne, a campaigner for LGBT
rights and a member of the C of E’s ruling body, the General Synod, said: “I’m
sadly unsurprised by the content of this statement but I’m deeply saddened by
its tone.
“It will appear far from ‘pastoral’ to
those it discusses and shows little evidence of the ‘radical new Christian
inclusion’ that we have been promised.”
--- guardian.co.uk
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