A split looms in The Church of England amid recent developments that may lead to adopting a more liberal stance with regard to same-sex relationships in the clergy.

The House of Bishops in a statement said that it will review existing teachings on homosexuality to see whether or not gay clergy who are engaged in civil partnerships will be eligible to become bishops. The review will be completed and a decision rendered by next year, according to The Telegraph.

The statement has led to warnings from conservative leaders in the church that a policy shift could cause a split. On the other hand, church liberals said they are disappointed that any policy changes will only be announced in 2013, The Telegraph said.With the announcement of the review, openly gay priests with civil partnerships will be barred from promotion within its duration. Presently, gay male priests are only eligible to become bishops if they are celibate. To date, no openly gay priest has been made a bishop. One former candidate, Rev. Jeffrey John, dean of St. Albans, was twice rejected; first, in 2003 as a candidate for Bishop of Reading (he was forced to withdraw when his long-term gay relationship was revealed); and secondly, last year as a candidate for Bishop of Southwark.

Schism

Rod Thomas, who is chairman of the conservative evangelical group, Reform, told The Telegraph that while he supports the ban, “The bishops know that if they veer in a liberal direction on sexuality they risk splitting the church.”

Thomas pointed out that conservatives may opt to join the Anglican Mission in England, a newly-formed group that poses a threat to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as it supports conservative evangelicals, The Telegraph said.

“We’re not actively preparing to join it, but we need to work out what is in place if the church ends up going down a more liberal line that sits light on the constraints of scripture,” Thomas told The Telegraph.

2005 statement

The Rt. Rev. Graham James, bishop of Norwich, said (on behalf of the House of Bishops) that the last time the church issued a statement about gay clergy was in 2005, and according to the Associated Press, the bishops failed to sufficiently address the matter.

The 2005 statement said, “sexual intercourse, as an expression of faithful intimacy, properly belongs within marriage exclusively.” It also said marriage is by definition, “a faithful, committed, permanent and legally sanctioned relationship between a man and a woman, central to the stability and health of human society.”

Under the statement, clerical candidates should expect to be asked if they have a civil same-sex partnerships, and if they do, must clarify if the relationship is celibate and in agreement with the teachings of the church.

The 2005 statement was made in the same year that a law was passed allowing same-sex civil partnerships, entitling them to the same rights and obligations that are legally required of married couples.

Legal opinion

Last month the church issued a legal opinion that clergy could not be rejected as potential bishops on the grounds of homosexual orientation. It also opened the doors to the possibility that clergy who are openly gay and have civil relationships may become bishops—provided they are celibate, The Telegraph said.

James told the AP that under the pending review, “The bishops will produce a consultation document in 2013. The House’s decision is motivated by a desire to help shape the continuing debate constructively and not by any view about what the outcome should be.”

James said to the Telegraph, “The (House of Bishops) has committed itself to a wider look at the Church of England’s approach to same-sex relationships,” The Telegraph reported.

The Anglican Church is also still debating on whether or not women clergy, whether they are gay or not, can become candidates for bishops.

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There has been a rise in the incidence of anti-gay attacks in Africa, and Christian evangelism is taking the brunt of the blame for it.

Homosexuality has long been taboo in Africa. According to The Washington Post, more than two-thirds of African countries have laws that render homosexuality a crime. In many of the countries, the laws date back to the colonial era.

The majority religion in the continent is Islam at 47 percent. However, Christianity is also sizeable, and a number of the African countries mentioned that are taking extreme actions against homosexuality are predominantly Christian.

Kenya

The Prime Minister of predominantly Christian Kenya said recently that gay people who are discovered having sex together should be arrested, The Washington Post said.

According to The Washington Post, gay people also have been denied health care, and have been jailed, tortured and even killed. Njeri Kabeberi, executive director of the Center for Multiparty Democracy in Nairobi told The Christian Science Monitor, “We’ve seen this same issue come up in Uganda, in Zimbabwe [and] in Malawi.”

Wanyeki Muthoni, executive director of the independent Kenya Human Rights Commission blamed three converging trends for the rising antagonism against gays. First, Kenyan gays are becoming politically active and are demanding “basic equality and nondiscrimination,” The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Second, Muthoni told The Christian Science Monitor, the global debate over the ordination of gay priests has had an effect in Africa. Third, African churches are being influenced by American evangelicals in Africa.

Uganda

In Christian Uganda, a pending bill seeks to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on repeat homosexual “offenders.” Failure to report a homosexual is punishable by three years in jail. Promoting homosexuality can result in five to seven years imprisonment if the bill is passed, the UPI reported.

Newspapers in Uganda listed down the names and addresses of gays with the heading, “Hang them.” Sheila Hope Meugisha, a Ugandan activist, told UPI she was forced to stay home for several days because of this.

The rise in attacks is blamed on visits last year by three evangelical preachers, UPI said. However, The Christian Science Monitor noted that homosexuality had been illegal in Uganda even during the British colonial era.

According to The Christian Science Monitor under the British, parliament had debated for a while, but withdrew a bill that would have imposed heavy sentences, including death, on homosexuals.

Malawi

In majority Christian Malawi an openly gay couple was convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison based on a colonial era law that banned “unnatural acts.” The sentence was retracted amid international retribution, The Christian Science Monitor said.

Blame

Aside from Christian fundamentalist preachers, The Washington Post blames the rapid growth of Islam in Africa, intolerance on the part of governments, and some politicians who are homophobic.

In Senegal and Gambia Christianity is a minority faith. But The Washington Post noted that in Senegal, the graves of homosexuals are sometimes desecrated, and in Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh said he will expel gays from the country and has urged citizens not to rent their homes to them.

In Cameroon, where 40 percent of the people practice traditional indigenous religion, and 40 percent are Christian, with the remaining 20 percent Muslim, gays have been assaulted by police and attacked by media, The Washington Post said.

South Africa

Surprisingly, the exception is South Africa, where 80 percent of the population is Christian. South Africa was the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination against gays in their constitution, and is one of very few countries in the world where gay marriage is legal, The Washington Post said.

The situation leaves Christians challenged to carefully tread a thoughtful line in Africa where scripture is not filtered, but where leadership should call for love for all people including gays, and an end to violence against gays and to ensure that scripture is not used to tolerate injustice against homosexuals.

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The double life of three Catholic homosexual priests was revealed recently in a magazine article in Italy.

The article featured in Panorama magazine, a conservative magazine owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, describes the activities of the priests, which included going to nightclubs and having casual sex.

Using a hidden camera during the interview with the priests, the Panorama reporter also got footage of the priests—a Frenchman and two Italians, having sex with strangers, once, inside a church. The Frenchman celebrated mass the morning after an encounter, then drove his two hired escorts to the airport, Telegraph India said.

Editor Giorgio Mule said the purpose of the article was to expose priests living double lives, not to create a scandal. He added that the piece was the product of a two-week investigation, the New York Daily News said.

The Catholic Church in Italy responded by asking homosexual priests to come out in the open and to leave the priesthood. They are still dealing with the effects of the pedophile priest scandal, Telegraph India said.

Panorama cover. Via New York Daily News

The Rome diocese issued a statement saying that the grand majority of their 1,300 priests are “models of morality for all.” The Vatican did not comment, but a senior source said, “There is no proof that the people involved are from the clergy,” Telegraph India said.

Panorama released a preview of the article and said they have video footage which will also be available. They said they did checks to ensure that the priests were all bona fide, the Daily Mail said.

The story begins by saying, “By day they are regular priests, complete with dog collar, but at night, it’s off with the cassock as they take their place as perfectly integrated members of the Italian capital’s gay scene,” Telegraph India said.

Catholic priests are obliged to take a vow of celibacy, and the church views homosexuality as sinful. The 2008 Vatican guidelines said that trainees for the priesthood with homosexual tendencies should not join, Telegraph India said.

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