Bishops to discuss gay marriage implications

The implications of this year’s legalisation of gay marriage will be among the issues discussed by the Bishops of England and Wales in their plenary meeting next week, writes Christopher Lamb.

At the biannual meeting in Hinsley Hall, Leeds, starting on Monday, the bishops will discuss any adjustments the Church will have to make in response to the new legislation.

The bill legalising same-sex marriage was passed by Parliament in July and it is expected that the first gay weddings will take place in the middle of next year.

It is thought the bishops will discuss whether the Church should follow France and Belgium and stop performing the civil element in marriages. This would mean Catholic ­couples would undertake two ceremonies: one civil and one religious.

The bishops’ legal adviser, Professor Christopher McCrudden, warned that the Church may have to take such a position in the run-up to the bill becoming law. Professor McCrudden argued that as a priest was performing a public function for the state, he could be vulnerable to legal action by refusing to marry same-sex couples.