THE extent to which the Church of England is divided over the acceptability of homosexual behaviour will become apparent next month when its General Synod, at its meeting at York from July 11th to 15th, debates a report published 5 1/2 years ago by its House of Bishops which in effect condemned active homosexual relationships among the clergy but was prepared to tolerate them among the laity.
The bishops' sensitivity on this issue is shown by the fact that this will be the first time the synod has been able to debate this 1991 report and that it is doing so only on a private member's motion.
But to prevent a damaging split, the bishops have warned synod members that they will block any amendments to the anodyne motion in which the synod will be asked to commend the report for discussion throughout the church while acknowledging that it is not the last word on the subject.
The synod last debated the morality of homosexual behaviour in 1987, again on a private member's motion. On that occasion it condemned homosexual genital acts as falling short of the Christian ideal which saw marriage as the only proper context for sexual intercourse.