We have reported over the past weeks on accusations of homophobia within the Electoral College of the Church in Wales after it declined to elect or appoint the Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John as the next Bishop of Llandaff. Christian Today is now reporting that five members have submitted a formal complaint Secretary of the Electoral College (via Thinking Anglicans).
The complaint signed by five of the 47-strong body read: ‘We object to the raising at electoral college of the matter of sexuality or civil partnership status, in direct contravention of the Church in Wales’s own policy that sexuality or civil partnership status is not a bar to appointment as a Bishop.
‘We consider that this action was deeply inappropriate, and prejudiced the electoral college proceedings so as to render them invalid.’
In response Mr Lloyd asked members of the electoral body to approve that normal rules of confidentiality should be waived to allow an investigation.
The appointment for a new bishop is now on hold and may be delayed until the investigation is complete.
Christian Today did not name the authors of the complaint. It did report that the Church in Wales had responded:
‘Five members of the Electoral College, which was assembled to elect the Bishop of Llandaff in February, have now submitted a complaint to the Secretary of the Electoral College. Their complaint is in relation to certain aspects of the conduct of the College. This matter has now been referred to the Legal Sub-Committee, which is a body in the Church in Wales assembled to consider legal and governance matters.
‘The responsibility of appointing the next Bishop of Llandaff has passed to the Bench of Bishops. It is too early to say whether the deliberations of the Legal Sub Committee will have any effect on the timing of an announcement.’
Find further background on the story here.
Featured image: Llandaff Cathedral, by Peter Broster [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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