Leader of the Kirk welcomes gay clergy

(from English Daily Telegraph, Monday 30th June)

Leader of the Kirk welcomes gay clergy
By Tom Peterkin
(Filed: 30/06/2003)

The leader of the Church of Scotland has said for the first time that he has no objection to openly homosexual ministers being ordained in the Kirk.

The new Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Prof Iain Torrance, has become the first leader to welcome the idea of homosexual ministers in the Kirk's 500-year history.

Prof Torrance said he was "utterly untroubled" by the ordination of homosexuals provided that they proved "disciplined and effective" ministers.

His remarks represent a major shift in the Church's view and are likely to be met with fierce opposition from traditionalists. Prof Torrance was speaking at the weekend following the controversy in the Church of England surrounding the appointment of Jeffrey John, a homosexual, as the Bishop of Reading.

Prof Torrance's comments in an interview with the Sunday Times are likely to provoke a similar row north of the border.

The Moderator said sexuality should not act as an impediment to those wanting to join the ministry and promised that homosexual ministers who encountered prejudice from congregations would be given help to move to another parish. Harry Reid, the author of the book Outside Verdict, which examined the issues facing the Church, said: "The Moderator's comments will take the debate much further on. But it will also bring what has been a festering issue for some time into the open.

"As a result, there could be a schism within the Church. There is undoubtedly a very significant minority in the Kirk, particularly north of Inverness, who will be appalled by the thought of the Church having a number of openly homosexual clergy."

Prof Torrance's views on the matter have changed since 1994 when he was one of six ministers to oppose a report to the General Assembly that recognised homosexuality and sex outside marriage for the first time.

Now he said he was prepared to cite the report to justify the appointment of the Kirk's first openly homosexual minister.

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The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon.)