Sexuality issues and relevant legal provisions

The current legal provisions underpinning the House of Bishops Report

On 27 January, the Church of England published Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations: A Report from the House of Bishops, GS 2055. The Bishops comment:

“We know that this report may prove challenging or difficult reading. We are confident, however, that the commitment that has been shown to listening to one another, not least through the Shared Conversations, in dioceses and in the General Synod, will have helped prepare us all as members of Synod to address together the challenges we face as a part of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We would ask for it to be read as a whole, with each paragraph being understood in the context of the whole report“.

The House was also provided with legal advice which described the effect of the relevant provisions of ecclesiastical law [19]. The parts of that advice which are material to the content of this report are attached as ANNEX 1, which is reproduced below [emboldening in original]: Continue reading