from Anglican Futures
On Tuesday, 16th December, the House of Bishops of the Church of England announced that “more time” was needed to finalise its “proposals on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process”. While they said that the decisions they took in October had not been “contested”, they “identified some areas where further clarification is needed and agreed to continue work on a letter to the Church summarising LLF and setting out an agreed position.” Later in the press release it was explained that the text of the letter would “take the form of a statement from the House,” which would have a degree of authority in any future dispute.
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell also reassured the Church that the bishops “remain on course to bring proposals to Synod for consideration in February.”
This has led many observers to scratch their head and ask “What are the bishops up to now?”
Of course, unless there is a leak from the House of Bishops, the Church will need to wait until January to find out for sure. Meanwhile, this blog explores the possibilities that arise from a careful reading of the both the statements and the theological and legal advice the bishops received.
The October “Update on LLF” set out a number of key decisions which this new statement says have not been “contested”.