A Labour MP is to challenge the Church of England to say whether it would defrock a priest for marrying a same-sex partner.
Ben Bradshaw has accused the Church of “trying to have its cake and eat it” by accepting same-sex marriage for its members, but not for its clergy.
The ex-cabinet minister said priests needed to know where they stood.
[blockquote] “Mr Bradshaw said the Church was in a “muddle” over where its own clergy stood.” [/blockquote]
That muddle seems to be intentional, or at the very least it is in keeping with the recent traditions of the CofE. The HoB has re-defined “long tradition” however to mean the following:
[blockquote] HoB: “The Church of England has a long tradition of tolerating conscientious dissent and of seeking to avoid drawing lines too firmly, not least when an issue is one where the people of God are seeking to discern the mind of Christ in a fast-changing context.
Nevertheless, at ordination clergy undertake to ‘accept and minister the discipline of this Church, and respect authority duly exercised within it’. We urge all clergy to act consistently with that undertaking.”[/blockquote]
The MP has rightly identified the muddle, but he shouldn’t expect clarity to come out of a muddle.
How can they have clarity when they don’t want to have clarity? They know how to be clear when they want to.
Let your yes be yes and your no be no.