1. We warmly welcome and
affirm the presence and ministry within the Church of gay and
lesbian people, both lay and ordained.
2. The subject of
sexuality, with its history of deeply entrenched views, would best
be addressed by facilitated conversations or a similar process to
which the Church of England needs to commit itself at national and
diocesan level. This should continue to involve profound reflection
on the interpretation and application of Scripture.
3. Consultation on this
report should be conducted without undue haste but with a sense of
urgency, perhaps over a period of two years.
4. The Church of England
should address the issue of same sex relationships in close
dialogue with the wider Anglican Communion and other Churches, in
parallel with its own facilitated conversations and on a similar
time-scale.
5. Homophobia - that is,
hostility to homosexual people - is still as serious a matter as it
was and the Church should repent for the homophobic attitudes it
has sometimes failed to rebuke and should stand firmly against it
whenever and wherever it is to be found.
6. No one should be
accused of homophobia solely for articulating traditional Christian
teaching on same sex relationships.
7. The Church should
continue to pay close attention to the continuing, and as yet
inconclusive, scientific work on same sex attraction.
8. Since Issues in
Human Sexuality was published in 1991 attitudes to same sex
attraction, both in English society generally and also among
Christians in many parts of the world, have changed markedly. In
particular, there is a great deal of evidence that, the younger
people are, the more accepting of same sex attraction they are
likely to be. That should not of itself determine the Church's
teaching.
9. The Church should
continue to listen to the varied views of people within and outside
the church, and should encourage a prayerful process of discernment
to help determine the relationship of the gospel to the cultures of
the time.
10. The Church of England
needs to recognize that the way we have lived out our divisions on
same sex relationships creates problems for effective mission and
evangelism within our culture, and that such problems are shared by
some other Churches and in some other parts of the Anglican
Communion. The Church of England also needs to recognize that any
change to the Church's stance in one province could have serious
consequences for mission in some other provinces of the
Communion.
11. Whilst abiding by the
Church's traditional teaching on human sexuality, we encourage the
Church to continue to engage openly and honestly and to reflect
theologically on the circumstances in which we find ourselves to
discern the mind of Christ and what the Spirit is saying to the
Church now.
12. Through a period of
debate and discernment in relation to the gospel message in our
culture, it is right that all, including those with teaching
authority in the church, should be able to participate openly and
honestly in that process.
13. The Church needs to
find ways of honouring and affirming those Christians who
experience same sex attraction who, conscious of the church's
teaching, have embraced a chaste and single lifestyle, and also
those who in good conscience have entered partnerships with a firm
intention of life-long fidelity
14. The whole Church is
called to real repentance for the lack of welcome and acceptance
extended to homosexual people in the past, and to demonstrate the
unconditional acceptance and love of God in Christ for all
people.
15. The Church's present
rules impose different disciplines on clergy and laity in relation
to sexually active same sex relationships. In the facilitated
conversations it will be important to reflect on the extent to
which the laity and clergy should continue to observe such
different disciplines.
16. We believe that there
can be circumstances where a priest, with the agreement of the
relevant PCC, should be free to mark the formation of a permanent
same sex relationship in a public service but should be under no
obligation to do so. Some of us do not believe that this can be
extended to same sex marriage.
17. While the Church
abides by its traditional teaching such public services would be of
the nature of a pastoral accommodation and so the Church of England
should not authorize a formal liturgy for use for this purpose. The
House of Bishops should consider whether guidance should be
issued.
18. Whether someone is
married, single or in a civil partnership should have no bearing on
the nature of the assurances sought from them that they intend to
order their lives consistently with the teaching of the Church on
sexual conduct. Intrusive questioning should be avoided.