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February 18, 2004

Protestants Only Want Celibate Gays

by Red Wolf

England: The Church of England came under renewed pressure from its own clergy recently to update its stance on homosexuality and gay priests.

In what appeared to be open defiance of the policy, the Rev Paul Collier, a south London priest, told the synod that his long-term relationship with another man reflected the real world that the church was failing to keep in step with.
Describing the church's position as hopeless, he said the report held nothing for lesbian and gay Christians because they had not been consulted on its contents.

He said: I am not a heterosexual gone astray. I am a gay Christian, with a Christian life and relationship with God. I was elected to the synod as an openly gay priest. The reality is out there in the church; it must become inclusive. He was given sustained applause.

Similar applause greeted Sister Rosemary, an Anglican nun making her first speech to the synod. She said: From the point of view of someone who has chosen celibacy as a way of expressing my love for God, the idea of forced celibacy is as abhorrent as forced marriage.

Gay Christians who chose to remain celibate, she said, were forced into a life of misery and a withering of their ability to love anybody, and yet those in committed relationships had the same quality of life as those in heterosexual relationships. Isn't it time to find the humility to learn from them? she asked.

Church policy on sexuality must reflect real world, says clergy - The Independent, 12th February 2004.

Posted in Pooves and closet cases at 06:07. Last modified on July 14 2009 at 16:45.
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