Five more bishops call for Church of England to allow same-sex marriages

re bishops have come out in support of gay marriage after the Bishop of Oxford became the most senior Church of England cleric to call for a break with tradition.

The Rt Rev Steven Croft said that he wanted to acknowledge the “acute pain and distress of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the Church”, and said that he was sorry his views on same-sex marriage were “slow to change” and had “caused genuine hurt, disagreement and pain”.

In his landmark declaration on Thursday night, which broke ranks with the Church’s current view on this issue, he said that as well as being able to conduct marriages for their congregation, clergy should also be allowed to marry a same-sex partner.

Currently, according to canon law, no Church of England minister can bless or marry gay couples. 

However, a number of other senior clergy, including bishops, have joined Bishop Croft in publicly calling for the Church to change on the issue.

The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr John Inge – a diocesan bishop – and the Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Rev Martin Gorick – a more junior suffragan bishop – have now publicly backed his calls.