Church of England votes to bless same-sex couples

The Church of England voted Thursday, February 9, despite the divisions, in favor of a blessing of homosexual couples. After eight hours of tense debates spread over two days, the nearly 500 members of the general synod, the elected body responsible for deciding on questions of doctrine, voted by a comfortable majority – 250 for, 181 against and 10 abstentions. – to allow same-sex couples to receive a blessing in church. This decision is the result of six years of consultations, which have brought to light the deep divisions that run through the Anglican Church and its 85 million believers on this issue.

If the Church of England appears generally more liberal on the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis the LGBT+ community, this is not the case for other Anglican churches, in particular in certain countries of sub-Saharan Africa, where homosexuality is still considered a crime. Even in England, the proposal submitted to the synod had aroused strong criticism. “The synod has now reached a result. I recognize that some will be deeply grateful, and others will be hurt by it”said the Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, after the announcement of the result. “The Archbishops and I hope that this deep and collected debate marks a new beginning for the Church, in our will to move forward by listening to each other, and above all to God,” she added. The motion passed Thursday also recognizes “the failure of the Church to welcome LGBT+ people and the harm that LGBT+ people have suffered and still suffer in the life of the Church”.