Church of England May Appoint Gay Bishop

In what could be a significant reversal for the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (pictured), who opposed the appointment of a lesbian bishop in the U.S. Episcopal Church, may promote a gay priest to bishop.

The Associated Press cites newspaper reports, which indicate that “Williams is prepared to back the elevation of the Rev. Jeffrey John, who withdrew seven years ago from an appointment as a suffragan (assistant) bishop in the face of a heated controversy about his homosexuality. Williams' office will not comment.”

The person appointed bishop would represent the Southwark diocese in London. According to the AP, representatives met in secret early this week to choose two nominees, whom Prime Minister David Cameron will review before making a recommendation to Queen Elizabeth II, the final decider.

Last month, Rowan, the spiritual head of the Church of England, removed the Episcopal Church from Anglican doctrinal committees in response to the election of Mary Douglas Glasspool as an assistant bishop in Los Angeles.

The AP reports that John, who is 57, may be seen as a less controversial candidate because he claims to be celibate, despite being in a civil partnership.

Long-simmering tensions in the Anglican Church over the role of women within the faith reached a crisis point with the 2003 elevation of Gene Robinson, an openly gay Episcopalian cleric, to Bishop in New Hampshire. The 77 million-member global faith faced outright schism over the matter, and conservative churches in the United States began to ally themselves with anti-gay African churches.

When the American church elected another openly gay individual--Los Angeles cleric Mary Glasspool--to the position of suffragen bishop, anti-gay American churches began to break away and join the newly-formed Anglican Church in North America, recounted On Top Magazine in a July 5 article.

Now another split could take place in the U.K., if openly gay Jeffrey John is confirmed as the Bishop of Southwark, On Top reported. John is only one of a number of clerics nominated to the position, but his supporters say that he would be ideal choice, given the parish’s large GLTB contingent.

Conservatives, however, say that John’s confirmation could fracture the church in the U.K. just as it has been fractured over the question of gays in the United States.

The BBC News noted in a July 5 article that John had been nominated for Bishop of Reading in 2003, but an outcry by anti-gay Anglicans led to his withdrawal from consideration.

The BBC reported that one opponent to John’s ordination, Chris Sugden, who is an official in the Anglican church, compared the issue of an openly gay, partnered man being named bishop to a government official being elected despite financial improprieties.

"He is in a registered civil partnership," noted Sugden. "Now the Church of England does not believe civil partnerships are the equivalent of marriage." Added Sugden, "Dr. John, by his own admission, was in an active gay relationship a number of years ago. And he is now said to be celibate, that is fine, one takes that at face value.

"However," Sugden added, "think of the parallel, say somebody was nominated to high government office, say the cabinet, and they had been involved in fiddling their expenses a number of years ago and never, never apologized or said it was wrong." Sugden went on to declare, "It is breaking the law of the Church in the sense of Christian teaching [which] is that active homosexual practice is not compatible with the teaching of scripture."

That line of argument drew a heated rebuke from St. Paul’s Cathedral canon chancellor Giles Fraser, the BBC reported.

"There is absolutely no respect in a comparison like that--this gets to the heart of the problem," Fraser said, going on to add, "the way in which gay and lesbian people love each other has to be honored and respected."

Added Fraser, "If you look at the job spec that the diocese of Southwark has put out, it says they want someone willing to honor the ministry of lesbian and gay clergy." Fraser said that John fit the bill, and "might well be the right person for the job," the BBC reported.