Welby refuses to sanction vicars offering gay weddings

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has attempted to face down conservative bishops by telling them he could not and would not punish churches that conduct gay marriages.

Yesterday he told bishops at a decennial gathering of the Anglican Communion: “I neither have, nor do I seek, the authority to discipline or exclude a church of the Anglican Communion. I will not do so.”

Tensions have been high at the Lambeth Conference, amid attempts by some bishops to insert an anti-gay marriage clause into its official resolution.

There were reportedly tears among the bishops when the Archbishop spoke at a plenary session, with those gathered ultimately opting not to vote on the issue to avoid further division.

Known as the Lambeth Call, the resolution has no legal or religious force, but is intended as a unifying document.

Conservative bishops focused within the Global South Fellowship, which includes those representing large African congregations, have been attempting to reaffirm language from the 1998 conference known as I.10 which asserted that same-sex marriage is not condoned by the church.

It will hold an unofficial poll of bishops this week aimed at reaffirming I.10.

The group also wants to see churches which ignore the resolution sanctioned.

Several Anglican churches either conduct or bless gay unions, including the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church in Wales.

Archbishop Justin Badi from South Sudan, who chairs the Global South Fellowship, said: “What defines us as Christians is following the teachings of the scripture.

“So it is our prayer that the whole Anglican Communion family will go back and follow and respect the authority of the scripture in all matters of faith and practice.”

Yesterday, the Archbishop of Canterbury published a letter to bishops, believed to be a concession to the Global South Fellowship after a private meeting, reasserting that I.10 remained active. In his speech to the conference, however, he sought to defend both sides.

He warned that forcing some churches to accept gay marriage “would make the church a victim of derision, contempt and even attack”.

He also cautioned that the same thing applied to “a minority” of churches if they did not accept gay marriage.

Jayne Ozenn, an LGBT+ campaigner accused Welby of trying to “ride two horses at once”.

Homosexuality remains illegal in a number of African and Asian countries.