A homosexual sexual orientation is no bar towards serving in the ministry, so long as a gay or lesbian priest remains celibate, the South African House of Bishops has declared.In a statement released at the close of their Sept 9-7 meeting in Midrand, the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) affirmed their commitment towards the Anglican Covenant process, addressed local financial and canonical issues, and responded to a request from the Cape Town synod for guidance on the pastoral support of same-gender couples.
The bishops dismissed newspaper reports suggesting the church was on the verge of schism over the issue of homosexuality, stating these stories were “grossly exaggerated and, in some cases, a misrepresentation.”
While there were “broken and damaged relationships” caused by the divisions over doctrine and discipline surrounding the ‘gay’ question, there was nonetheless a “deep desire among the bishops throughout the world to maintain the bonds of unity” withint he Anglican Communion.
In support of this unity the House of Bishops reaffirmed their commitment to the “Communion’s exploration of an Anglican Covenant, as a means of providing a basic statement of the common faith and mission that holds the Anglican Churches together in visible community.”
The bishops also reaffirmed their commitment to the Anglican Communion’s traditional teaching on sexual morality as articulated in the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution 1.10. The bishops stated they did not “believe sexual orientation” was a “barrier to leadership within the church. However, maintaining as we do, that Christian marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman, we hold that clergy unable to commit to another in a Christian marriage partnership are called to a life of celibacy.”
The bishops also dismissed newspaper reports that suggested the Diocese of Cape Town was contemplating introducing rites for the blessing of same-sex unions. Last month’s synod resolution was “pastoral in nature”, the bishops wrote, and was a response to the “new situation created by the South African Government’s legislation allowing for civil unions between same sex couples” and the request for guidance was “not in any way in conflict with Resolution 1.10.”
A task force had been created to respond to Cape Town’s request for guidance, the bishops said, that will look for guidance to the “resolutions and statements made thus far by ACSA” on this question.
The bishops also affirmed their desire to remain part of the Anglican Communion. While not of one mind on all of the issues facing the church, “we remain committed to upholding the bonds of unity with one another, as we journey together through the difficult questions that confront the worldwide Anglican Communion. Differences of opinion are inevitable, schism is not,” the bishops said.
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