Monday, August 08, 2005

Swami Mr Minority Predicted This One

Back when the Episcopal Church first officially sanctioned Gay Priests to have "partners" as long as they did not engage in homosexual sex, I said that would go over like a fart in church and would be ignored. Well as I predicted, it is thus so.
The Church of England's crisis over homosexuality deepened yesterday after gay clergy said that they would defy their bishops over civil partnerships.

Some told The Daily Telegraph that they had no intention of assuring their bishops that they will be sexually abstinent when they "marry" their partners.

One said he was "furious" with the way homosexual clergy were being treated and gay rights activists predicted a widespread revolt.

The anger of liberals and conservatives follows the publication last month of House of Bishops guidance on the Civil Partnerships Act, which will offer same-sex couples legal rights similar to marriage when it is enacted on Dec 5.

The bishops' guidance said that clergy could enter into partnerships but only if they first assured their bishops that they would abide by Church teaching that sex should be confined to heterosexual marriage.

Several hundred clergy are thought likely to take advantage of the new law and homosexual rights campaigners said that most would refuse to tell their bishop about their behaviour in the bedroom.

Only a fool (or a committee of Episcopalian Bishops) would believe that gay priests would obey the new rules. But then again, I have feeling that the church hierarchy knew the rules were going to be broken, and only created the rules to pacify conservative members of the Clergy. No matter what actions are taken against these disobedient priests, the Church is going to split into a Gay Loving set and a Conservative set, which will have a huge financial impact on the Church as a whole. Once the closet door was opened, it cannot be closed, and the Church England is in for more decline and a split.


Mr Minority