The archbishop of Canterbury has warned MPs that he will ignore threats of parliamentary intervention to force the Church of England to allow same-sex couples to marry in church.
Speaking at the C of E’s national assembly, the General Synod, Justin Welby said members should not be swayed on the issue by “groups or lobbies or outsiders”. He said he had heard such efforts to influence the church “over the last two weeks in parliament, and being told exactly what to do. I’m not doing any of it.”
A group of Conservative and Labour MPs are weighing up options aimed at bringing the C of E into line with the law of the land with regard to same-sex marriage.
The synod spent five hours on Wednesday debating a proposal by bishops to allow clergy to offer blessings in church to same-sex couples who have undergone a civil marriage. The bishops also propose to review a ban on clergy entering into same-sex civil marriages and a celibacy rule for clergy in same-sex relationships.
The debate will resume on Thursday morning. The bishops hope that a decisive vote for their motion will put an end to years of painful divisions and disagreement over sexuality.
Welby said he supported church blessings for same-sex couples in civil marriages, not because he was “controlled by [the] culture” of wider society, but because it was right based on “scripture, reason and tradition”.
Acknowledging the concerns of some conservative Christians that the move will inevitably lead to the C of E offering marriage equality to same-sex couples, he said: “I know there is fear of a slippery slope … But let us not give in to the fear of the future which we can neither predict nor control. Fear leads us to do the wrong things.”
Jayne Ozanne, a prominent equality campaigner, asked the synod to throw out a proposed apology to LGBT+ people, saying its primary purpose was to make those issuing it feel better.
“It’s akin to an abusive partner who keeps telling the one they abuse that they love them and that they are sorry, and they will never do it again,” she said. “A psychotherapist will tell you that is a harmful cycle of abuse.”
Busola Sodeinde requested that leaders of Anglican churches across the world – many of which hold traditional views on sexuality – be consulted about the impact of C of E blessings of same sex civil marriages. Such a move could result in disunity in the global church and the “exodus of diverse communities from our parish churches” in England, she said.
In an emotional response, Welby acknowledged that churches in some countries could be at risk if the C of E – the mother church of the global Anglican Communion – liberalised its stance. “I beg you to believe there is nothing in my life or heart or prayers that comes as high as the safety and flourishing of people I love in the Anglican Communion,” he said.
