Anglican Church

Well THIS ain't gonna work!

HOMOSEXUAL priests in the Church of England will be allowed to marry their boyfriends under a proposal drawn up by senior bishops, led by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The decision ensures that gay and lesbian clergy who wish to register relationships under the new civil partnerships law giving them many of the tax and inheritance advantages of married couples will not lose their licences to be priests.

They will, however, have to give an assurance to their diocesan bishop that they will abstain from sex. (Two chances of this working: "No" chance and "Fat" chance.)
The bishops are trying to uphold the church doctrine of forbidding clergy from sex except in a full marriage. They accept, however, that the new law leaves them little choice but to accept the right of gay clergy to have civil partners.

The decision is likely to reopen the row over homosexuality that has split the worldwide Anglican communion. It may also overshadow an international meeting of senior bishops next month designed to heal rifts between liberals and conservatives over the issue.