Merry Ol’ England?

Be very careful if you ever get invited to a dinner party by clergy of the Church of England!

Openly gay and un-celibate Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the man who lit the fire which is burning the Anglican Communion, is currently in gay merry ol’ England and his given an interview in which he ‘outs’ the clergy of the Church.

Speaking in an interview in London, Bishop Gene said: “I have met so many gay partnered clergy here and it is so troubling to hear them tell me that their bishop comes to their house for dinner, knows fully about their relationship, is wonderfully supportive but has also said if this ever becomes public then I’m your worst enemy.
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He said bishops in the Church of England had backed him but declined to name them. “I have received huge support from the Church of England both from the clergy and from the pews. Hardly a day goes by never mind a week that I don’t receive encouraging words of support. I think the thing that is the most mystifying to me and the most troubling about the Church of England is its refusal to be honest about just how many gay clergy it has – many of them partnered and many of them living in rectories.”
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If all the gay people stayed away from church on a given Sunday the Church of England would be close to shut down between its organists, its clergy, its wardens…..it just seems less than humble not to admit that.”

I have no idea how much truth there is in what Robinson is saying, I suspect that he is over blowing exaggerating the situation. Even so, this does not make matters any easier for the CofE to broker any kind of deal on the situation. In my mind, that is a very good thing. Putting this all back in the closet and pretending it doesn’t exist serves no one. I hope they are honest about how far gone the situation really is. Perhaps then something real can be done about it.