The Sydney Anglican diocese yesterday widened its list of banned clergy to include celibate homosexuals and those who had pre-marital sex and failed to repent, but would still accept polygamists.
The diocese justified the apparent contradiction by arguing the Bible's outright condemnation of homosexuality compared with its oblique disapproval of a man taking several wives.
The diocese released a statement on Monday from its six bishops that said two overseas homosexual bishops-elect, and a third who had allowed same-sex blessings, were unwelcome in the diocese. They said the nomination of Canon Jeffrey John, who has had the same homosexual partner for 27 years, as Bishop of Reading in Britain, the same-sex blessings allowed by Bishop Michael Ingham in the Canadian diocese of New Westminster, and the election of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the US, a priest who left his wife to be with his gay partner, had threatened to rupture the Anglican communion.
However, a spokeswoman for Sydney Archbishop Peter Jensen, who is currently in London, said he would be unable to say that his own diocese had no practising homosexual clergy. She said that while he refused to license homosexuals, he was unable to confirm the honesty of those who had repented and said they were celibate. "It's not the kind of thing an archbishop seeks out and checks up, but if it came to his attention he would have to act."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, released a statement yesterday responding to criticism of the nomination of Canon John.
He said Canon John had given "explicit assurances on various matters, including his personal circumstance", a reference to the fact homosexuals could take up a ministry as long as they were celibate.
He also issued a stern message to those such as Dr Jensen who were outspoken about their opposition. "It is not for anyone outside the diocese to override or pre-empt what is obviously a painful and complex process . . .," Dr Williams said.
One of the signatories to the Sydney statement, Bishop of North Sydney Glenn Davies, stressed that the diocese's opposition to Canon John was based on his lack of repentance for his years of homosexual activity, rather than his current celibacy. Dr Davies said priests who had sex outside marriage also were banned because of biblical teaching.
Asked whether polygamists were acceptable to the Sydney diocese, Dr Davies said while it was far from ideal, it was tolerable to have a minister with more than one wife.
"The Bible doesn't condemn polygamy like it does homosexuality".