Next month’s General Synod of the Church of England will probably have another round of controversial voting when a motion to increase the benefits of same-sex couples to that of traditionally married clergy is considered. At present the Church of England bars clergy from living in active gay relationships but does recognize civil partnerships on the condition that the partners are not sexually active.
While activists within the CoE hope that the passage of such a motion will signal a break through in the treatment and acceptance of gay and lesbian Christians in that church, there are financial considerations likely to come into play:
Church commissioners fear that extending the law to provide homosexual clergy with equal benefits could cripple the pensions scheme, which Shaun Farrell, chief executive of the Church’s Pensions Board, has already admitted has a “huge great hole” in it.
There are two background papers prepared for the debate here and here.
Here’s the agenda for the synod. The debate on civil partnership benefits is scheduled for the afternoon of February 11th.