Church of England clears way for gay, celibate bishops

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

The Church of England cannot refuse to appoint bishops simply because they are gay, but it can insist that they remain celibate, the? denomination's lawyers have told it.

It would be wrong for boards appointing bishops to take account "of the fact that a candidate had identified himself as of gay sexual orientation," says the legal advice, which the Church of England published Monday.

But church rules do bar anyone in sexual relationship outside marriage from becoming a bishop ? which implies that a gay man can become a bishop only if he is celibate.

The compromise is unlikely to satisfy either conservatives or liberals in the global church, which is deeply torn over the role of women and gay men in church leadership.

The Anglican Communion ? of which the Church of England is the English member ? is world's third-largest Christian denomination, with between 75 million and 80 million members in the United States, Canada, England, Australia, Africa and elsewhere.

The legal advice, dated December 2010, comes in response to Britain's Equality Act, parts of which came into force in October. It was published ahead of the meeting of the church's governing body, the General Synod, next week.

Source: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/20/church-of-england-clears-way-for-gay-celibate-bishops

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