Bishop says Church of England is failing UK's gay and lesbian community
The Church of England is failing the UK's gay community, according to one senior bishop.
Peter Lloyd
The Church of England is failing the UK's gay community, according to one senior bishop.
In a move that will anger traditional Christians, the Bishop of Salisbury, right Rev Nicholas Holtam, said the church must rethink the biblical portrayal of homosexuality as "idolatrous, promiscuous and exploitative".
He made the comments during the BBC's Radio 4 programme on religion and ethics, yesterday.
"Marriage is between a man and a woman. What has happened now is that we have begun to see in a way, which is not there in the Bible, that there are people in same sex relationships who are living faithfully and lovingly for life."
He added: "I don't think there is much there [in the Bible] which addresses the issue of faithful, same sex relationships. We have had the experience of civil partnerships for six years now and we need to review where we are."
The comments come just one week after the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, claimed David Cameron was acting like a "dictator" for backing same-sex marriage.
“I don’t think it is the role of the state to define what marriage is,” he said.
“It is set in tradition and history and you can’t just [change it] overnight, no matter how powerful you are."
His comments sparked a protest outside York Minster, which took place last week.
Top Tory blog editor backs gay marriage
Montgomerie stressed the need to protect religious liberty
A prominent Tory commentator and editor of the Conservative Home website has come out in favour of gay marriage.
Tim Montgomerie has previously been noted for his activities combining religion and politics, having founded the Conservative Christian Fellowship in 1990.
Talking to the Independent this weekend, he said many in the CCF were “upset, very perplexed” and felt “real disappointment” at his move to back equal marriage.
On his blog today, Montgomerie wrote: “It is because I value marriage so much that I have come to believe it should be extended to gay people and not kept exclusive.”
He continues: “Marriage is, for want of a better word, conservatising. I don’t mean in a party political sense. I mean it is one of the key social institutions that conservatives admire. It is about drawing people together.
“Not just the couple but also their extended family and other friends and loved ones. It is a deeply important social act that draws others to the care of the couple and draws the couple to the care of others, not least ageing parents.”
He writes: “I hope, over time, we will get to a policy where we can combine gay rights with religious liberty. On occasions – such as with Catholic adoption agencies – religious liberty has been compromised in unacceptable ways.
“The Government has promised that any gay marriage bill will protect the rights of religious groups to hold firm to their view that marriage must remain between a man and a woman. I may no longer share other Christians’ opposition to this social reform but we should live in a society where the state guards freedom of religion and association.”
Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall, welcomed Montgomerie’s announcement, saying: “We’re delighted that, having heard the arguments, one of Britain’s most influential evangelical Christians is now able fully to support marriage for gay people without compromising his faith in any way.
“Many people of faith are considerably more progressive than the religious leaders, such as Dr Sentamu, who often speak intemperately in their name.”
In his interview with the Independent, Montgomerie said theArchbishop of York, who compared a government move to introduce equal marriage with the actions of a dictatorship, was a “very good man”, but questioned the language he had used.
MediaGuardian put Montgomerie in 90th place on their 2010 list of the most powerful people in the media.
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