Fighting over gay marriage in the Church is ‘Devil’s work’

THE Church of England’s infighting factions are doing the “Devil’s work” by seeing each other as their enemies, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said amid an ongoing debate over same-sex marriage.

The Most Rev Justin Welby made a call for unity in his opening address at the five-day General Synod yesterday as he said Lambeth Palace was being flooded with hate mail on the subject.

The Church’s divisions between conservatives and liberals have been brought to the fore in recent years amid discussions over same-sex marriage.

Last year the Church voted to trial blessings for gay couples who have had civil weddings or partnerships.

The archbishop said it would be a “very serious mistake” for the Church to “put aside” its issues and divisions, however “tempting” that is.

“The fear and suffering that come from division make us look at other people as our enemies and we have to resist that illusion in faithful and honest community,” he said.

“Causes of fear, which lead to a sense of enmity, are well-disguised as uncertainty, unpredictability and uncontrollability of life. And like barnacles on the hull of a ship, they attach themselves to make us see other people as our enemies, and that is the Devil’s work,” he added.

The archbishop said he was “convinced” that “all the different groups in the different discussions” were seeking “to live in holy obedience”. But he said the Church’s divisions are leading clergy and laymen to speak to each other with “bitterness”, “abuse” and “expressions of hatred”.

“At Lambeth, the brilliant member of staff who deals with the endless correspondence that comes in is worn down by the expressions of hatred coming from within the Church,” he added.

Some opponents of same-sex blessings have called for “structural differentiation” that would internally split the church between those who conduct the blessings and those who do not.

The Rev Dr Ian Paul, associate minister at St Nic’s in Nottingham, said debating the topic this week would produce “more division, more frustration, no more progress”.

“Fiddling while Canterbury burns doesn’t even capture it,” he said.

Archbishop Welby insisted that he had “no fear” for the future of the Church because “God is faithful”.