Yesterday, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gave a speech in which he expressed his concern that the Church of England’s opposition to same-sex marriage is harming its image among the country’s youth. The Archbishop also called upon believers to repent over the Church’s past treatment of gay people.
Speaking to the leaders of Evangelical Alliance in London, the Archbishop emphasised that conservative views alienate young people: "We have to face the fact that the vast majority of people under 35 not only think that what we’re saying is incomprehensible but also think that we’re plain wrong and wicked and equate it to racism and other forms of gross injustice. We have to be real about that." The Archbishop also acknowledged that the Church "has not been good at dealing with homophobia," adding that "we have to be really, really repentant about that because it is utterly and totally wrong."
Even if repentant, Archbishop Welby still stands behind his staunch opposition to the Same-Sex Marriage bill earlier this year. "I am happy that I voted against it. It seemed to me that the bill was rewriting the nature of marriage in a way that [conflicted] with the Christian tradition, with scripture, and with understanding," he said. He further added that while the bill was "quite rightly" trying to deal with homophobia, he does not believe "redefining marriage" is the right way to handle the issue.
The Archbishop’s conciliatory message was perhaps not received as warmly as Pope Francis’ recent statement on not passing judgement on homosexuals (if they have good will). Ben Summerskill, Stonewall’s chief executive, said: "It is a tiny bit rich to say he has great sympathy for gay people when in the 10 years since the introduction of civil partnerships the Church has doggedly refused to bless people's long term partnerships even though they are happy to have services for pets and even canals." Benjamin Cohen, founder of campaign group Out4Marriage and publisher of PinkNews, welcomed the Archbishops comments, and stated that religious institutions should have the right to opt-out of performing same-sex marriages – just as younger generations have the right "to question the relevance of these institutions if they reject a change in the law that most young people think is nothing more than equality."
