Letter to the English House of Bishops

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/news05091901.asp

[Anglican Mainstream] September 19, 2005--While individuals are free under civil law to register partnerships, given the ambiguity in the legislation and because they are bound to be seen as a form of gay “marriage”, it would be inadvisable for Christians to enter them if only to avoid causing scandal. We acknowledge the need to remove unjust discrimination in our social legislation but it is necessary to recognise that sexual expression of the relationship in a registered Civil Partnership has been explicitly acknowledged by the government. For example refusal of sexual intimacy is a possible ground for dissolution of the partnership. It is naïve to think that a significant number of those embarking upon a civil partnership will eschew sexual intimacy, as hoped for by the bishops. This reality will in due course bring your advice into disrepute. In these circumstances, we believe that it would be better for you to advise all Christians, whether lay or ordained, not to enter civil partnerships, rather than entering them under restricted conditions.