Archbishop of Canterbury acknowledges same-sex challenges for the Church

Ahead of his enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral today, the 105^th Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev Justin Welby acknowledged the challenges faced by the Church of England in regards to same-sex relationships.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury said he still supports the Church of England’s formal opposition to active homosexuality and did not doubt the Church’s policy on same-sex relationships, but was rather challenged as to how we respond to the issue.

He affirmed that the “Church of England holds very firmly, and continues to hold to the view, that marriage is a lifelong union of one man to one woman. But at the same time, at the heart of our understanding of what is to be human, is the essential dignity of the human being and so we have to be very clear about homophobia”.

In response to the Church’s reaction towards the issue of gay marriage he said the Church would not turn a blind eye to same-sex marriage, stating that marriage is about loving people as they are and where they are.

The Archbishop is also expected to soon meet the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell who had criticised the Archbishop in an open letter that stated, “You claim that you are not homophobic but a person who opposes legal equality for LGBT people is homophobic, in the same way that a person who opposes equal rights for black people is racist.”

In response to the letter, the Archbishop reportedly emailed and thanked Peter for his “very thoughtful” letter and asked if he would like to discuss the issue without the mediation of the press.

Aastha Gill