wfn.org | CHANGING GUIDELINES FOR ORDAINING HOMOSEXUALS

[a.whitefield@quest.org.uk]

May 8, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, England

[97.5.1.1]

CANADA: BISHOPS SURVEYED ON CHANGING GUIDELINES FOR ORDAINING
HOMOSEXUALS

(Anglican Church of Canada news - see earlier story 97.4.4.3.)
Two-thirds of  Canadian Anglican bishops surveyed recently favour some
change to their 1979  guidelines on the ordination of homosexual
persons, but they have continued  to uphold the guidelines "in
principle".

The 1979 guidelines say all people are equal before God, but "our
acceptance  of persons with homosexual orientation is not an acceptance
of homosexual activity." The guidelines also say the bishops "do not
accept the blessing  of homosexual unions." They say a gay or lesbian
person may be ordained "if there has been a commitment to the bishop to
abstain from sexual acts with persons of the same sex...."

The survey was conducted by a task group of bishops to determine whether
there is a will among the bishops as a whole that the guidelines should
be changed and if so, how.

The survey results offer the first public glimpse into the bishops'
deliberations on a topic that has engaged them privately for some
portion of  most of their meetings since 1991. At that time they
reaffirmed the 1979  guidelines but pledged further study. Until now,
all of that study has been conducted in private sessions.

Of 34 bishops completing the survey, 10 wish to retain the guidelines
without change. Six want the guidelines to remain in force only until
they can be replaced by new ones. The largest number, 18, want to revise
the guidelines to retain their "original intention" but they say a
revision is needed to express the guidelines in "a wider context of
theological understanding and pastoral sensitivity."

The survey hints at some issues of pastoral sensitivity by asking
bishops to  indicate their acceptance of various options including:   .
apologising to the gay and lesbian community for insensitivity and
hostility originating in the  church;
 .  calling on the church to welcome and celebrate the presence of gays
and lesbians in its midst;
  .  considering ways of recognising committed same-sex relationships.
Among the survey results (total number of votes varies because not all
bishops answered every question):

 .  19 bishops favour an apology to gays and lesbians for the church's
insensitivity and hostility; 12 oppose the move.

 .  21 say the church should "intentionally  welcome and celebrate the
presence of its gay and lesbian members;" 10 oppose.

 .  23 say the church should be "more accepting and affirming of models
of family other than the  nuclear family;" 7 oppose.

 .  Two questions about same-sex relationships produced a complex
response.

In one, 16 bishops  oppose considering recognition of same-sex
relationships, while 14 are in favour. But 19 bishops want to "keep open
the  discussion concerning possible ways to affirm relationships formed
by same-sex partners," while 10 oppose.

 .  If the 1979 guidelines were to be replaced, 28 bishops, the largest
majority on any of the questions, favour retaining its assertion that
"all persons, regardless of sexual orientation,  are equal before God."
But 3 bishops oppose retaining the statement.

 .  17 bishops favour a declaration that "sexual orientation is seldom a
matter of personal choice," while 10 oppose.

 .  two questions, both rejected by a majority of bishops, test whether
dioceses should make their own decisions. In one, 17 bishops oppose
allowing   a diocese to affirm same-sex unions, with 11 bishops in
favour. In the  other, 22 bishops oppose allowing the "ordination of
homosexual persons who   are in, or hope to be in, monogamous faithful
relationships;" five bishops  would favour the  move.

The survey results will provide guidance to the bishops' task force,
which is now charged to prepare a draft message to the church, for the
bishops to review in their fall 1997 meeting.

Task force members include the Most Revd Percy O'Driscoll, Archbishop of
Huron (chair); the Rt Revd Tom Morgan, Bishop of Saskatoon; the Most
Revd David Crawley, Archbishop of Kootenay; and the Rt Revd Russell
Hatton, Bishop ordinary to the Canadian Forces.