The compromise of the House of Bishops on gay marriage is incoherent, dishonest in itself, and reliant on dishonesty in others to work. It will certainly fail in the long run. But I am less inclined than most of my friends to dismiss it out of hand: it does come tantalisingly close to being workable. The guidelines published the day after Valentine's Day say that gay and lesbian clergy may not marry, and married LGBT people may not be ordained. Nor are there to be services of blessing for civil partnerships (which clergy may, and do, enter into) – but there may be services of "thanksgiving".
This isn't exactly new. It is reminiscent of the official policy of the 90s, which was that gay clergy must be celibate, but the laity need not be. That failed. It drove out a lot of gay clergy, but not all, and it did not stop or much slow the movement of opinion within the congregations. As a lay, gay friend of mine, partnered with a vicar, said once: "The church tells me I can't be a priest. Doesn't say I can't sleep with one, though."
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