(Premier) Peter Ould says CofE bishops are ‘washing their hands of doctrine’ over same-sex blessings

“I’m really saddened by this,” he said. “There’s lots of clergy, evangelical clergy, middle of the road clergy and Catholic Church clergy, who are really disappointed that the House of bishops have taken this step against a lot of advice and knowing that it’s going to cause massive damage to the Church of England. So I’m disappointed that we, as a Church are putting forward prayers and we are doing it on such a narrow margin in terms of votes for and against.

“There are lots of clergy and churches who want to know how they’re going to be looked after if they dissent, if they continue to hold to the doctrine of the Church of England. None of that has been explained that this point.

“Some things in the pastoral guidance show that bishops are almost washing their hands of clergy and the doctrine. It feels like we’re almost being gaslit.”

[The] Rev [Mr] Ould said that just before the House of Bishops meeting, a broad alliance of Anglo Catholics and evangelicals had written to the bishops telling them not to go ahead with the guidance.

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Posted in Anthropology, Church of England (CoE), CoE Bishops, England / UK, Ethics / Moral Theology, Parish Ministry, Pastoral Theology, Religion & Culture, Same-sex blessings, Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion), Spirituality/Prayer, Theology, Theology: Scripture