THE Archbishop of Canterbury was “giving a personal view” when he told a podcast this week that all sexual activity should be “within a committed relationship” — whether marriage or a civil partnership — Lambeth Palace has clarified in a statement.
“There is no consensus among the bishops on this question, and the Church remains deeply divided” on the issue, the statement said.
During an episode of The Rest is Politics, recorded in the crypt of Lambeth Palace and published on Monday, one of the presenters, Alastair Campbell, returned to a question that he had put to the Archbishop in an interview in 2017: “Is gay sex sinful?” He recalled that the Archbishop’s answer then had been: “I haven’t got a good answer,” and asked whether he now had a “better answer”.
The Archbishop said that he did: “What the Archbishop of York and I and the Bishops, by a majority, by no means unanimous, and the Church is deeply split over this — where we’ve come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, and whether it’s straight or gay.
“In other words, we are not giving up on the idea that sex is within marriage or civil partnership, or whether marriage is civil or religious, and that, therefore, we have put forward a proposal that, where people have been through a civil partnership or a same-sex marriage, equal marriage, under the 2014 Act, they should be able to come along to a church and have a service of prayer and blessing for them in their lives together.”
In a reference to the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF), he spoke of “a simple service of welcome and blessing, and even that has resulted in an enormous breakdown of relationships in a really sad way”.
Questions about the relationship of PLF to the Church’s teaching on sex in relationships, and whether they represent a departure from declared doctrine, have been one of the key areas of contention during the journey to their approval (News, 12 July).
A note on the legal position attached to the update on Living in Love and Faith, published with the General Synod papers in July, stated that the pastoral provision offered by PLF represented “a pastoral outworking for a time of uncertainty that respects the Church of England’s unchanged doctrine of marriage, including the aspects of that doctrine that are concerned with sexual intimacy. On that basis, we have concluded that making the PLF available for same-sex couples without there being an assumption as to their sexual relationships would not be contrary to the doctrine of the Church of England.”
It said that the PLF “affirm the goods in same-sex relationships, including stability, faithfulness, exclusive, lifelong commitment etc.”. It also acknowledged that “many same-sex couples will be in active sexual relationships”, and concluded that: “In so far as making the PLF available for couples in an active sexual relationship does involve any departure from doctrine, it nevertheless does not involve a departure from doctrine ‘in any essential matter’, and that doing so is compatible with the relevant canonical requirements.”
The podcast interview has been viewed more than 33,000 times on YouTube.
On Wednesday, a statement from Lambeth Palace said that the Archbishop had been “giving a personal view that reflects the position now held by himself, the Archbishop of York and many other bishops regarding sexual intimacy. He has been honest that his thinking has evolved over the years through much prayer and theological reflection — particularly through the Living in Love and Faith process — and he now holds this view sincerely. It reflects his commitment to continuing to welcome, love and include LGBTQ+ people more fully in the life of the Church.”
It continued: “However, there is no consensus among the bishops on this question, and the Church remains deeply divided. Archbishop Justin stressed his absolute commitment to those who hold a traditional view having “a full and undoubted place in the Church of England”. His answer does not indicate a changing of teaching from the House of Bishops. This is an ongoing conversation across the Church – and Archbishop Justin hopes that the bishops, together with clergy and laity, will keep praying and reflecting on these questions.”
The Archbishops’ comments echo those of other Bishops. During the February 2023 debate that led to a vote to welcome the Bishops’ proposals for providing prayers of blessing, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said: “The right context for sexual intimacy is within lifelong, committed, and faithful relationships” (News, 17 February 2023). Conservative members of the General Synod have called for greater clarity from the bishops about the Church’s teaching on this matter (News, 14 July 2023).
In his answer to Mr Campbell, the Archbishop was keen to emphasise a desire to honour the consciences of conservative Anglicans: “Because of conscience, no priest or church should be compelled to have these services,” he said. “I think, personally, this is a long way from church same-sex marriage. But there is no doubt that the Church is deeply, profoundly divided on this.
“For those who are conservative, I am absolutely committed to them having a full and undoubted place in the Church of England.”
In a wide-ranging interview, the Archbishop talked about his own childhood, which had at times been “chaotic, very scary, sometimes violent”; his “terror” while condemning the Government’s Rwanda policy during an Easter sermon (News, 22 April 2022); his views on foreign policy; and his own struggles with mental ill-health.
“If I allowed myself to read my own Twitter feed, that would not help me at all — in fact, if would do a lot of harm,” he said. “I believe it when people say I am the worst Archbishop in history. . . I am aware that when I am depressed I get bad-tempered and so I have to spend time saying sorry to people.”
He also drew attention to recent signs of growth in attendance in the Church of England (News, 20 May).