Anglican Communion News Service

Two-thirds of Canadian Anglican bishops surveyed recently favour some change to their 1979 guidelines on the ordination of homosexual persons, but they have continued to uphold the guidelines "in principle".

The 1979 guidelines say all people are equal before God, but "our acceptance of persons with homosexual orientation is not an acceptance of homosexual activity." The guidelines also say the bishops "do not accept the blessing of homosexual unions." They say a gay or lesbian person may be ordained "if there has been a commitment to the bishop to abstain from sexual acts with persons of the same sex...."

The survey was conducted by a task group of bishops to determine whether there is a will among the bishops as a whole that the guidelines should be changed and if so, how.

The survey results offer the first public glimpse into the bishops' deliberations on a topic that has engaged them privately for some portion of most of their meetings since 1991. At that time they reaffirmed the 1979 guidelines but pledged further study. Until now, all of that study has been conducted in private sessions.

Of 34 bishops completing the survey, 10 wish to retain the guidelines without change. Six want the guidelines to remain in force only until they can be replaced by new ones. The largest number, 18, want to revise the guidelines to retain their "original intention" but they say a revision is needed to express the guidelines in "a wider context of theological understanding and pastoral sensitivity."

The survey hints at some issues of pastoral sensitivity by asking bishops to indicate their acceptance of various options including:

• apologising to the gay and lesbian community for insensitivity and hostility originating in the church;
• calling on the church to welcome and celebrate the presence of gays and lesbians in its midst;
• considering ways of recognising committed same-sex relationships.

Among the survey results (total number of votes varies because not all bishops answered every question):

• 19 bishops favour an apology to gays and lesbians for the church's insensitivity and hostility; 12 oppose the move.
• 21 say the church should "intentionally welcome and celebrate the presence of its gay and lesbian members;" 10 oppose.
• 23 say the church should be "more accepting and affirming of models of family other than the nuclear family;" 7 oppose.
• Two questions about same-sex relationships produced a complex response.
  • In one, 16 bishops oppose considering recognition of same-sex relationships, while 14 are in favour. But 19 bishops want to "keep open the discussion concerning possible ways to affirm relationships formed by same-sex partners," while 10 oppose.
• If the 1979 guidelines were to be replaced, 28 bishops, the largest majority on any of the questions, favour retaining its assertion that "all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are equal before God." But 3 bishops oppose retaining the statement.
• 17 bishops favour a declaration that "sexual orientation is seldom a matter of personal choice," while 10 oppose.
• two questions, both rejected by a majority of bishops, test whether dioceses should make their own decisions.
  • In one, 17 bishops oppose allowing a diocese to affirm same-sex unions, with 11 bishops in favour. In the other, 22 bishops oppose allowing the "ordination of homosexual persons who are in, or hope to be in, monogamous faithful relationships;" five bishops would favour the move.

The survey results will provide guidance to the bishops' task force, which is now charged to prepare a draft message to the church, for the bishops to review in their fall 1997 meeting.

Task force members include the Most Revd Percy O'Driscoll, Archbishop of Huron (chair); the Rt Revd Tom Morgan, Bishop of Saskatoon; the Most Revd David Crawley, Archbishop of Kootenay; and the Rt Revd Russell Hatton, Bishop ordinary to the Canadian Forces.

Related News Entries

• House of Bishops Discuss Ordination of Homosexuals (April 25, 1997)