New Scottish Primate “open to ordination of homosexual bishops”
Craig Brown
With the church’s annual synod due to take place this month, Dr Jones also broached the controversial subject of the ordination of homosexual bishops in the Anglican communion, saying that he believed congregations wanted “stability” but not at the expense of progress.
The Primus said that he was more open to the idea of ordination of homosexual bishops in the Anglican communion.
“My own views are coloured by the fact that I am trained and qualified as a psychotherapist, so my view of human sexuality is more liberal and open than many other people’s would be and my own view is a liberal opinion, and I’m not going to shift from that. But I’m well aware that’s not where the church is and my task as a Primus is to stay with where the church is and that is what I’ll do. But I’ve got my own convictions about where the church has got to move.”
“I’m quite clear in my own mind that at the moment the position is ‘we don’t want any dramatic change’,” he said. “So a lot of people don’t want the church to start revising and redoing its theology and doctrine. At the same time they don’t want the church to start rigidly applying rules and regulations. So people want a bit of stability.”
However, the Primus said that he was more open to the idea of ordination of homosexual bishops in the Anglican communion.
“My own views are coloured by the fact that I am trained and qualified as a psychotherapist, so my view of human sexuality is more liberal and open than many other people’s would be and my own view is a liberal opinion, and I’m not going to shift from that. But I’m well aware that’s not where the church is and my task as a Primus is to stay with where the church is and that is what I’ll do. But I’ve got my own convictions about where the church has got to move.”
The church was hit by controversy in 2004 by adopting a position backing the ordination of homosexual bishops after the Episcopal Church of North America ordained a practising gay man, Gene Robinson, as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
The Primus said that though it was a divisive issue for the church, it was “never right to stop change because of those who don’t want to move” but that the views of these people had to be respected.
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