The Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Richard
Clarke has denied that the creation of a Select Committee to consider
same-sex relationships and human sexuality is an attempt by the Church
to “stall” on handling this contentious issue.
At a General Synod press conference in Armagh he told reporters:
“The subject of same-sex relationships is desperately divisive but we
are trying to approach it in a systematic way. The creation of a
Select Committee is not an attempt to kick anything into the long grass.
If we rush things, people will want to think of ‘winning or losing’ but
that is not the way the spirit of God works. This is a time for
people to listen generously to one another. It is no a stalling
process, and I would not want to a party to anything which is evolved in
this way.”
The Archbishop, who holds a traditional view of
marriage, also said: “I have to be prepared to listen intently to the
views of others. I have to be ready to the possibility of my mind and
spirit being changed, and others will have to do likewise.”
A
sixteen-person Select Committee was appointed by the General Synod for
two years to“ enable listening dialogue and learning... on all issues
concerning human sexuality in the context of Christian belief.”
However, Gerry Lynch, the co-chair of the pro gay group Changing Attitude Ireland, told the Belfast
Telegraph: “We have to talk about this in a serious and structured way
as a Church, but I regret that there are no representatives of the
lesbian and gay community on the Select Committee. It is a
worrying sign that no lessons have been learned about the exclusion of
gay people in the Church. The membership of the Select Committee is a
bit like appointing a committee on race relations with an all-white
membership.”