Scottish church backs gay priests

Yoda

From the BBC

Scottish church backs gay priests

The Scottish Episcopal Church has said being a practising homosexual is not a bar to a person becoming a priest.

It is believed to be the first time the Scottish church has publicly declared its position on the subject.

The church's College of Bishops made the statement on its website and said clergy had occasionally responded to requests to bless same-sex couples.

The view differs from the Anglican Communion worldwide, which is arguing over the consecration of a US bishop.

The Scottish church said it "had never regarded the fact that someone was in a close relationship with a member of the same sex as in itself constituting a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry".

Gay rights group Stonewall welcomed the Scottish church's announcement, a response to a February meeting of 35 world Anglican leaders.

Spokesman Alan Wardle said: "We are not theologians but we welcome the sensible approach taken by the Scottish Episcopal Church.

"It strikes us as a real pity that the Anglican Church has been tearing itself to pieces over what seems a relatively trivial issue when they could be tackling more pressing matters like world poverty or the Aids epidemic."

The statement from the church, which has an estimated 45,000 members, is in contrast to the Church of England, which will only ordain homosexuals not in a physical relationship.

Anglican leaders have criticised the US Episcopal Church over the consecration of Gene Robinson and the Anglican Church of Canada for its blessing of same sex unions, demanding they withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for three years.

But the Scottish bishops said: "We are conscious that as a church we are much indebted in our life both to a significant presence of persons of homosexual orientation, and also those whose theology and stance would be critical of attitudes to sexuality other than abstinence outside marriage.

"We rejoice in both."

Most Reverend Bruce Cameron, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, said the church was simply stating its present position.

He said: "We do not have a synodical decision like the Church of England has, which it made a number of years ago, and therefore if someone who was of a homosexual orientation felt a sense of call to the ordained ministry then we would begin the process of testing that vocation.

"We wouldn't bar him or her simply because they were homosexual."

A spokesman for the Church of England said that the church condemned homophobia in all its forms.

He added: "The clergy are held as models or examples of Christ-like behaviour.

"Given the present understanding of active homosexuality it is not an acceptable mode of behaviour for someone who is ordained."

fozzle

*applauds Scottish Church*

Hopefully more will follow.

Zillah

Bravo