The Church will publish legal advice on Monday that says that homosexual clergy in civil partnerships can become bishops – as long as they remain celibate.
The legal guidance makes clear that it would be wrong for a cleric’s sexual orientation to be taken into account when considering their suitability as a bishop.
However, the guidance will say that homosexual clergy should be made to clarify that they are not in an active sexual relationship – effectively make a promise that they are and will remain celibate.
It would also mean candidates for a bishopric being questioned over their previous sex life and asked whether they repent having gay sex.
The advice is likely to trigger a new row over the role of homosexual priests in the Church. Conservatives and liberals are bitterly divided over the issue.
Last month, tensions between the different factions in the Church surfaced again when bishops debated the issue at a private meeting, failing to reach agreement on how far they should comply with new equality legislation.Dr Jeffrey John, the Dean of St Albans, was forced to stand down from becoming the Bishop of Reading in 2003 after evangelicals argued the revelation he was in a long-standing same-sex partnership made him unsuitable to be promoted.
The guidance is being sent to members of the General Synod, the Church’s parliament, which meets in York next month and was produced by church lawyers in response to the Equality Act, legislation introduced last year which gives protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.
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