First the good news: new pastoral guidance issued by the House of Bishops states that, as far as the Church of England is concerned, sex is only for heterosexual marriage, there remains a clear distinction between marriage and civil partnerships, and “sexual relations are not proper to the latter” (https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church-of-england-affirms-sex-is-only-for-heterosexual-marriage-10465?fbclid=IwAR2QmskyXITvPvM3D_GzUbMWWYNlm6ZGnBBPNs96C1k66JyMecm9ri4aOzo)
Furthermore, “the introduction of same-sex marriage [in 2013]… has not changed the church’s teaching on marriage or same-sex relationships.”
But before we break out the noisemakers and party hats, there’s still this:
In 2018 the church approved new liturgies “intended to affirm and celebrate a person’s shift to a chosen gender identity… [and] to recognize liturgically a person’s gender transition.” So Holy Scripture, Genesis 5:2, “Male and female created He them”–that, they don’t affirm? God’s created order, that’s not affirmed?
It would be astonishing if the church doesn’t come under intense fire simply for affirming its teaching on sex and marriage. So, yes, it took a certain amount of courage for the bishops to do this.
But they still have one foot firmly planted in the bizarre innovations of this evil age, and we hope they know what Our Lord Jesus Christ said about serving two masters.
Trying to get out of declaring which side they’re on, the Lord’s or this world’s–and it ain’t gonna work, guys. Bishops ought to know that. You can’t actually follow Yogi Berra’s advice: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” These two roads diverge widely, and you can’t travel them both.
