The governing body of the Church of England voted in favor this Thursday that priests bless homosexual couples, but maintained the ban on same-sex marriages.
The general synod of the Church of England, made up of hundreds of elected members and which meets two or three times a year, backed the proposal by a wide margin, after eight hours of debate over two days.
A total of 250 bishops, clergy and laity supported the reforms, while 181 opposed and 10 abstained, in a vote held in central London.
The proposals, announced last month after nearly six years of internal debate, do not they will modify the norms that prohibit Anglican priests from officiating weddings of same-sex couples.
Synod members supported an amendment upholding that ban, but voted for a proposal that allows the blessing of marriages or civil unions.
They also recognized “the failure of the Church to welcome” LGTBQ (lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and ‘queer’) people.
Last month, the bishops had already apologized for the “hostile and homophobic attitude” that members of that group may have faced in some parishes.
However, the initiative has generated divisions between the more progressive sector of the Anglican church, which considers that it is not going far enough, and critics of the amendment, who argue that the changes only create more disagreements.
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New beginning
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, welcomed the changes supported by the Church, although she acknowledged the divisions with the Anglican church in the United Kingdom and beyond.
“I recognize that there will be (people) very grateful for this and that it will have hurt others,” he declared, vowing to “be aware of the deep divisions” this will cause.
“These divisions over these issues go to the depths of our human identity,” Mullally said.
“The archbishops and I hope that today’s thoughtful and devoted discussion marks a new beginning for the Church, as we want to move forward, listening to one another,” he added.
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We hope that today’s thoughtful and devoted discussion marks a new beginning for the Church.
The debate came after years of mounting political pressure on the Anglican church to reform its approach to same-sex marriage, legalized in England and Wales in 2013.
The Anglican Church, dominant in the United Kingdom under the aegis of the Church of England, of which King Charles III is Supreme Governor, has 85 million believers worldwide and is present in many countries, including some in Africa. sub-Saharan Africa where homosexuality is still considered a crime.
inside the catholic church Pope Francis caused controversy by taking a relatively liberal stance on homosexuality, stating that those who criminalize her are “wrong”.
But it does not depart from Catholic doctrine on marriage, defined as the union between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation, and in 2021 the Vatican reaffirmed its view that homosexuality is “a sin.”
AFP
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