by George Conger, Anglican Ink
The governing body of Sunderland Minster has repudiated its own Canon Provost, saying it would not have approved the transgender toilet sign that made national headlines last week and does not support it retrospectively. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) met on Monday, 1 June, and published a statement that reversed the position Canon Clare MacLaren had publicly and repeatedly defended.
The statement read:
“The governing body of Sunderland Minster (the PCC) met on Monday 1 June to discuss the recent post on our social media account challenging the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex. The post would not have been supported by the trustees if we had been consulted in advance, nor do we support it retrospectively. It is important that we at Sunderland Minster respect the rule of law and the poster has since been removed. The social media post has also been deleted. We are now consulting with the EHRC for specific advice, and we are reviewing a number of our own internal policies, including our use of social media to ensure that all posts are properly considered and scrutinised before publication. We are in touch with the safeguarding team at the Diocese of Durham to ensure proper safeguarding procedures are being followed. We would like to apologise to those who have been upset in the last week. Please be assured that, as a member of the Inclusive Church network, we will continue to offer pastoral care to all. Sunderland Minster remains committed to the Inclusive Church network, working to end discrimination and inequality.”
The Minster limited comments on the post.