Anglican Bishops: LGBT people should be encouraged into church leadership
GBT people should be encouraged into church leadership and not face awkward questions about their sexual relationships, clergy are being told.
In a letter praising 'the great contribution that LGBT+ Christians are making', four bishops in Lichfield are urging clergy to take a different approach to welcoming gay people.
'We wish to affirm that LGBT+ people can be called to roles of leadership and service in the local church,' the new guidance issued to Anglican ministers in Lichfield said. 'Nobody should be told that their sexual or gender identity in itself makes them an unsuitable candidate for leadership in the Church.'
It added: 'Intrusive questioning about someone's sexual practices or desires, or their experience of gender, is almost always inappropriate. It is also unacceptable to tell or insinuate to people that sexual orientation or gender identity will be changed by faith, or that...