Topical Tuesday: On Tiaras and Tutus
by John Percival, Church Society:
The Church of England’s report, Valuing All God’s Children, made headlines around the world last week. Addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying, it contains several significant weaknesses.
The Church of England carries a massive responsibility for education through its 4,700 schools. As part of that responsibility, it must provide guidance on various areas of policy and strategy, including how to tackle bullying. As a basic expression of loving our neighbours, the desire to offer guidance on tackling all kinds of bullying is to be highly commended. As a reflection of twenty-first century Britain, the need to consider how to support children living with or related to LGBT experiences is a missional necessity.
We must be thankful that thought has gone into this guidance produced by the CofE’s Education Office on tackling HBT bullying. Many will know the voice of Peter Ould as one which speaks with wisdom, experience, clarity and faithfulness on these issues. He has encouraged all Christians to welcome this report warmly.
While there is lots in the guidance that I appreciate, I want to take a moment to set out some hesitations that I have. I am not claiming to know all the answers, but I think there are some significant weaknesses in this document that demand further attention.
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