From The Church Times-THE prospect of the Church of England's allowing clergy to solemnise same-sex marriages is "nowhere on the horizon", the Secretary General of the General Synod, William Fittall, said this week.
Mr Fittall gave evidence to MPs on Tuesday during the Committee Stage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which passed its Second Reading in the House of Commons last week ( News, 8 February). The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham James, and the deputy legal adviser to the Synod, the Revd Alexander McGregor, also gave evidence.
Mr Fittall told MPs that, apart from one or two people who had expressed personal views on their blogs, he did "not detect a strong debate among our bishops around moving to same-sex marriage". It would be "possible" for the General Synod to pass legislation enabling clergy to conduct same-sex marriages, "but I have to say my assessment is, it is nowhere on the horizon."
Asked by an MP whether the Church's official stance on homosexuality might change in years to come, Bishop James said that a group chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling was looking at the Church's approach to sexuality ( News, 6 January 2012). "I think it's possible, of course, that our understanding of same-sex relationships and how we treat them would change," he said. But this would not necessarily "lead automatically to the Church approving of same-sex marriage."
More here-
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/15-february/news/uk/fittall-gay-marriage-‘not-on-horizon’
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