Canadian Bishops Continue to Wrestle with Sexuality Issues
Episcopal News Service. November 13, 1997 [97-1998]
(ENS) After 30 years of wrestling with issues of sexuality, the Anglican bishops of North America still find themselves deeply divided but moving toward a pastoral and compassionate response.
Canada's Anglican bishops recently revised their guidelines on dealing with the ordination and pastoral care of homosexuals, while admitting they are "unlikely" to reach any "consensus in the near future."
"Bishops are cautious people," Bishop Michael Ingham of Vancouver, British Columbia, explained in an interview, "and they recognize the potential for division, very strong in the Canadian Church, so they want to move slowly."
Meeting in Mississauga, Ontario, the bishops on October 30 adopted almost unanimously and without change a statement which recommends that the Canadian Church "continue to read the scriptures together and to engage in dialogue, that we might listen for what the Spirit is saying to the church today."
The guidelines "affirm traditional teaching" of marriage between a male and female; refuse to "authorize any act that appears to promote confusion" between blessings of same-sex unions and Holy Matrimony; and admonishes homosexual clergy to adhere to "exemplary behavior" and "a commitment to remain chaste."
But the statement also admits "we do not have a common mind on all things" and the church must continue its ongoing study while avoiding the rancor it sees in other churches.
"While consensus may be unlikely in the future, we believe that study and dialogue continue to be fruitful. As we continue to listen together to scripture, tradition, and reasoned arguments based on the experience of the church, including and especially the experience of its gay and lesbian members, we grow in our recognition that our disagreements reflect our attempts to be faithful to the Gospel in our different personal and pastoral contexts," the bishops agreed.
The Canadian bishops said that since 1976 they have "sought advice as it faced the issue of homosexuality in contemporary society and how the church ought to relate pastorally, and in terms of ordination." A benchmark statement in 1979 included the belief that "We believe as Christians that homosexual persons, as children of God, have a full and equal claim with all other persons, upon the love, acceptance, concern and pastoral care of the church."
After extensive debate at the 1995 General Synod, legislation was adopted which "affirmed the presence and contributions of gay men and lesbians in the life of the church and condemned bigotry, violence and hatred directed toward any due to their sexual orientation." Continued study led to open dialogues throughout the church, which "fostered a greater understanding of what it is to be a gay man or lesbian in the church" and enabled them to "share their experiences in a more public way to the benefit of the whole church which has become increasingly aware of the breadth and depth of their contribution," the bishops said.
"There are some very good things about the statement," Ingham said. "It acknowledges the pain and suffering of gays and lesbians in the church. It describes them as sons and daughters" and "calls for repentance for the fostering of prejudice and ignorance. That's a major step forward, indicating that the bishops through their long dialogue have come to a deeper understanding of gays and lesbians. That's all very positive, a step forward," he said.
But, Ingham added, "I think it is the same bitter pill but with sugar coating. It still represents a no to people in our church who deserve a yes. I'll say to gays and lesbians in my diocese that the statement can be interpreted hopefully, that the church is moving. But it's not moving fast enough or far enough for those people who are, in part, excommunicated."
Discussing the issue for the first time in open session, the House of Bishops in April appointed a task force to rewrite the 1979 guidelines "in light of new pastoral awareness while at the same time retaining the original intent of the guideline."
The guidelines focus on four main areas: the place of gay and lesbian persons in society, the place of gay and lesbian persons in the church, the significance of committed sexually active relationships between people of the same sex, and the significance of such relationships for ordination of gay and lesbian persons.
The bishops agreed "on the basis of theological insights... irrespective of considerations of the appropriateness of homosexual acts" that gay and lesbian persons "are entitled to equal protection under the law.'' The bishops supported national legislation that made sexual orientation a prohibited ground for discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The bishops also called for all church members to "safeguard the freedom, dignity and responsibility of every person to seek and end to discrimination."
Regarding the church's attitude to gay and lesbian people within the church, the bishops admitted, "We are experiencing growing awareness that the persons of whom we speak are here among us. They are our sons and daughters. They are our friends and relatives. This recognition has not always been present." The church's awareness "too often has been one of standing at a distance, even of prejudice, ignorance and oppression. All of us need to acknowledge this, and to repent for any part we may have had in creating it," the bishops agreed.
At the same time, the bishops did not budge regarding the blessing of same-sex unions. While recognizing "that relationships of mutual support, help and comfort between homosexual persons exist and are to be preferred to relationships that are anonymous and transient," the bishops stated they "would not authorize any act" that appears to mirror marriage between same-sex partners.
"There is and needs to be, ongoing discussion about how to respond appropriately to faithful and committed same-sex relationships," the bishops said, but "we are not ready to authorize the blessing of relationships between persons of the same sex." They are committed to ongoing study of the issue, they added.
Admitting that some clergy are gay or lesbian, and "their ministries are often highly dedicated and greatly blessed," the bishops said that "sexual orientation in and of itself is not a barrier to ordination or the practice of ministry." But, they added, ordination candidates must continue to promise "to live their lives and shape their relationships so as to provide 'a wholesome example' to the people of God. Exemplary behavior for persons who are not married includes a commitment to remain chaste," the bishops agreed.
Ingham noted that the Canadian Church is wary of repeating the experience of the Episcopal Church in dealing with sexuality issues. They regard as divisive several U.S. experiences, such as the trial of retired Bishop Walter Righter for ordaining a homosexual deacon, and statements such as the Koinonia statement signed by some bishops at the 1994 General Convention saying that sexuality is "morally neutral." Recent statements on sexuality from a meeting last year in Kuala Lumpur and a meeting in Dallas last month condemning the North American churches' wrestling with sexuality issues have inflamed the dialogue.
"Our conversation is influenced by what has been happening in the United States in two ways," Ingham said. There is a desire "not to repeat the American experience, which we see as very divisive." And, he said, "from the point of view of gays and lesbians in the Canadian church, what's happening in the U.S. gives them hope that there are places where their unions can be blessed."
Regarding the future for Canada, Ingham said, "There is no doubt which way this is going. The question is how long will it take? Canadian society is becoming much more tolerant and accepting" of gays and lesbians. "The courts, the direction of civil law is toward equal rights. The church seems to be lagging behind society," he said.
Bishop Christopher Epting of Iowa agreed with Ingham's observations. "I can certainly hear echoes of our own church's struggles over the blessing of committed same-sex unions and the ordination of persons in such relations," he said. "The Episcopal Church has moved from name-calling to dialogue to certain mutual respect as we seek to work through these vexing questions," he said.
"Neither the Canadian Church nor our own has reached consensus on these matters, but we are clearly walking together along the road to God's truth and God's will for the church," added Epting, who is serves as a member of the House of Bishops' committee on theology. "I look forward to Lambeth 1998 where we will continue the dialogue with sister and brother bishops from the wider Anglican Communion."