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Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says gay marriage is ‘great’
Lambeth Palace reaffirms Justin Welby’s opposition in principle to gay marriage after he remarks that Church must accept it is now the law, adding ‘and that’s great’
By John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor
THE TELEGRAPH
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
May 14, 2014
The Church of England has been forced to reaffirm its opposition to same-sex marriage after the Archbishop of Canterbury appeared to suggest that he thinks it is “great”.
In his first interview with a gay publication, the Most Rev Justin Welby, told PinkNews that the Church had to accept that same-sex marriage is now the law in England and Wales after securing overwhelming support in Parliament.
He said it was “right and proper” that same-sex marriage has now come into force, adding: “And that’s great.”
His comments came as he offered an olive branch to the gay community, publishing new rules for Church of England schools aimed at stamping out homophobic bullying.
Lambeth Palace insisted that despite the initiative, the Archbishop remained opposed in principle to same-sex marriage and that he had been speaking about the right of Parliament to change the law when he used the word “great”.
The Archbishop voted against David Cameron’s Same-Sex Marriage Act in the House of Lords last year, saying that he feared it “weakened” the family and society.
Although he has reiterated that opposition since, he also told the church’s General Synod a few weeks after the vote that the hostility he felt in the Lords brought home to him how radically and rapidly opinion had changed in Britain on the issue.
The Archbishop spoke this week of how the church must face up to its part in the mistreatment of gay and lesbian people.
But the new guidance also described the gay lifestyle as “less than God’s ideal”, an Anglican euphemism for “sin”.
Asked in the interview what his message for the LGBT community was, he said: “We are struggling with the issues across the Church globally.
“It’s complicated with ramifications that are very difficult to deal with in many parts of the world.”
He added: “As you know I have said, and got a fair amount of flak for it within parts of the Church, we have to accept, and quite rightly, that the Same-Sex Marriage Act is law, and that it’s right and proper, it’s the law of the land, and that’s great.”
A spokesman for Lambeth palace said: “The Archbishop has said numerous times that he accepts the right of Parliament to change the law and that the Church should continue to demonstrate the love of Christ for every person.
“The Archbishop voted against the Same-Sex Marriage Act in the House of Lords last year.”
Speaking about his own faith he added: “I started with coming to faith many years ago by the understanding that Jesus loved me unconditionally despite my failures. That I know is true, and I want a Church that expresses that.”
Pressed on whether he was suggesting that gay people are “failures”, he said: “No I’m not saying that at all, but all people are failures in many different ways.
“There is no one who is a complete success in their life in which everything is right.
“Therefore the love of Christ is universal for all people irrespective of who they are and the Church has to find a way of expressing that.”
He also acknowledged that the question of how the Church would respond to gay clergy who have defied a ban by marrying their partners was “a really difficult” situation.
END
