The appointment of Jeffrey John

A letter from Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary [MCU Press Release]

Published in the Church of England Newspaper on Thursday 5th June 2003

Dear Editor

The hostility to Jeffrey John's appointment as Bishop of Reading is reminiscent of the hostility, twenty years ago, every time a supporter of women priests was made a bishop.

In both cases the error is to think Christianity doesn't change. One thing has remained constant: the fury with which objectors condemn bishops. But the issues change: from the date of Easter to transubstantiation, women's ordination, and now, for the first time, what is most controversial about bishops is their views on homosexuality.

Homosexuality only merits a few passing references in the whole of the Bible - unlike the frequent condemnations of interest on loans, and Jeffrey John probably has a deposit account somewhere.

Realistically, the current fuss is nothing to do with the Bible. Society's attitudes to homosexuality have become more tolerant, and the churches have got left behind. As so often happens, God is leading us to new insights, and the institutional churches are the last to follow God's lead. We ought to be the first.

MCU PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS SUPPORT GAY BISHOPS

Press Release, 30th June 2003

The Modern Churchpeople's Union (MCU) welcomes the appointment of Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading, and the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. The President of the MCU, The Rt Revd John Saxbee, Bishop of Lincoln, is fully in agreement with those who support Dr Jeffrey John's appointment.

MCU acknowledges that at this time some people feel strongly opposed to the full acceptance of gay people into the ministry of the Anglican Church, but our members deplore the power tactics that are being used to subvert to due processes, particularly of the Church of England. MCU General Secretary Jonathan Clatworthy says: "Established procedure was followed, and I do not think using the media, and a campaign of letter-writing, to generate a public sense of crisis is an appropriate way of expressing disagreement. Those who are so vociferously opposed do not express the mind of the Church, and treat the Bible irresponsibly by interpreting it as a justification for opposing gays and lesbians today. MCU members offer our sympathy to Jeffrey John and his partner for the distress they have been obliged to endure, and the prying into their private lives."

Jonathan also says: "Members are saddened by the threats to generate a financial crisis within the Church of England by withholding diocesan financial contributions. This technique reveals opposition to the appointment as part of a power ploy by a small group attempting to impose its will on the rest of the Church. However, we think the threat is misplaced, as only a very small minority of the British population wish to retain discrimination against gays and lesbians. "

MCU members are not be surprised at threats to split the Church. We have been arguing that Alternative Episcopal Oversight in the 1993 Act of Synod sets an unfortunate precedent by creating specialist bishops for a dissident minority group. It is inevitable that similar privileges will be demanded by other dissidents.