Church still scared of homosexuality...

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, are in the news today after it was revealed that they got a little too high on a bottle of Holy Wine that they stole from the cellars at York cathederal, realised how much they like each other, and eloped to Blackpool where they got married in a bingo hall before spending a debauched and hedonistic night eating winkles beneath the illuminations.

Actually, that's not true, it's just our 'interpretation' of a BBC headline that reads Archbishops regret gay 'wedding'. The real story is in fact the much more corporeal account of the disappointment that these two illustrious Bishops share after learning that two of gay subordinates were married at a church in London, much to the disdain of God himself, who according to his autobiography, the Bible, doesn't particularly care for homosexuality.

We know that everybody knows the old debate about homosexuality in the clergy by now, basically that the big shots at the Church don't like it so much and their gay priests do. Well, it's these feelings of disgust that live in the lofts that have inspired the Archbishops of York and Canterbury to ensure that an investigation will find out exactly why it is that two priests - the Reverend Peter Cowell and the Reverend Dr David Lord - were allowed to get married in a Church ceremony performed by an ungay priest, Reverend Dr Martin Dudley.

Writing for the New Statesman website, the Dudley said that refusing to bless the pair "would have been a negation of everything I believe".

There are apparently two schools of thought in the Church regarding the bible and homosexuality. Although it can be interpreted in numerous ways, traditionalists believe that the holy text doesn't permit being gay, liberals say that it should be reinterpreted in line with contemporary experience. Whatever floats your boat we say, plus, isn't their something inherently gay about being a priest, anyway? You spend a lot of time hanging around with other guys, singing, getting down on your knees, and trying to love everybody. What's the big deal?

If people can be gay and priests then, if there is a god, clearly he doesn't disapprove. How can an almighty creator create something that goes against his wishes? And it's not like the UK's gay community is magically going to become straight again, so wouldn't it be in the Church's interest to welcome this big slice of the social sector rather than ostracise it?

*Yawn*...

Photo: Flickr

Written by Oli Anderson on 18 Jun 2008 3:24 PM. Permalink