The Church of England has now entered another turbulent period of debate over sexuality, which threatens to tear it apart from the inside. The Pilling Report is the nickname given to the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality’s report (also known as GS1929), released at the end of November. The small group which put it together was chaired by Sir Joseph Pilling, and has heard testimony from a wide range of groups on the issue of homosexuality over the last two years. There was talk that the Report would not be released to the general public for some time, but we welcome the fact that it has now entered the public domain so that we can all see what the working group are recommending to the bishops.
At its publication, the Archbishops were keen to stress that this Report is not a new official policy document for the Church of England. This should be borne in mind during any future discussions of it. This report will, however, have quite an impact on Church of England politics over the next two years. Like the apostle Jude, in the Bible, I’m sure that we would prefer to discuss the good news of Jesus Christ and the salvation he offers to all. We are constrained, however, to respond to the teaching of those who are changing the gospel into an affirmation of cultural change.
There are some good things in the Report. For a start, it is absolutely right to say that “the Church should repent for the homophobic attitudes it has sometimes failed to rebuke and should stand firmly against it whenever it is to be found.” It is also good to have it on paper that “No one should be accused of homophobia solely for articulating traditional Christian teaching on same sex relationships.” However, there are, sadly, problems that need to be addressed. Keep reading
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