The Bishop of Southwark’s Presidential Address – An intial response.
by Martin Davie:
The Presidential Address given by Bishop Christopher Chessun to the Southwark Diocesan Synod last Saturday has now been published online.[1] In his address the bishop sets out his view of what the outcome of the LLF process should be both for the Diocese of Southwark and for the wider Church of England. The purpose of this paper is to give an initial response to what the bishop has said, explaining why it is problematic from the perspective of traditional Anglican theology.
The first thing I want to comment on is his statement:
‘We have journeyed through the pandemic in a costly but resilient way and we have much to give thanks for, but we all know we still have some way to go before we can be confident that the Church is a welcoming and safe place for all, somewhere all can flourish without fear of discrimination or prejudice. Anything less falls short of the abundant life Christ came to bestow (John 10. 10). This is something upon which I venture to suggest we can all agree.’
At first sight this statement would indeed appear to be something on which everyone can agree. However, the problem comes with what the key words in the statement actually mean. Does the bishop think that the Church can be a ‘welcoming and safe place’ for LGBT+ people in which they can ‘flourish without fear of discrimination or prejudice’ and still be a diocese which upholds the traditional Christian conviction that a person’s sexual identity is determined by their God -given biology and that sexual activity should only take place within marriage between two people of the opposite sex? The reason for asking this question is because there are those in the Church of England who would argue strongly that this is not the case and that only unconditional affirmation of transgender identities and same-sex sexual relationships can make the Church a safe and welcoming place in which LGBT + people can flourish.
Where does the bishop stand on this issue? What he says leaves his position on the matter unclear.
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