…what he’s saying, in effect, is that he’s not going to allow his House of Bishops to effect a nifty U-turn that forces oppressed Christians abroad either to change their minds overnight about an “abomination”, as they see it, or to leave the Anglican Communion when they crave its moral support.<\/p>\n
That’s a perfectly sensible approach, in so far as it goes. But Archbishop Welby’s attempt to reconcile it with his surprisingly passionate defence of LGBT Christians is not convincing: we’re supposed to believe that “consultation” will enable the C of E to arrive at the “right” decision about blessing homosexual marriages, whatever that might be. (There’s no question, yet, of gay weddings in C of E churches, which are forbidden by the new law.)<\/p>\n
Moreover, it means that the Archbishop of Canterbury will not say whether gay marriage is morally wrong. When Moreton asks him about the Anglican priest in Lincolnshire who’s just married his boyfriend, he replies: \u201cIt\u2019s best if I do not comment on that”. It’s a matter for the Bishop of Lincoln.<\/p>\n
Really?<\/p>\n