Job Description 'Celibacy'...legal?

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

Gay Bishops have to keep it in their pants

The sex-obsessed Anglicans can't be serious. In no other walk of life would it be legally OK to insist successful job applicants could be gay but would have to be celibate. Hope someone challenges this.

[merrymouse]

I think they are just trying to slowly delay the inevitable.

If the C of E want to maintain any shred of relevance to modern life they will have to completely update their views on women and gay people in the next decade. I think most of them realise this. Its just they are going with the slowly dip your toe in the water approach.

This is resulting in some rather humorous proposals, as above.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

OK Off to google Pope Joan.

I love history that is so long ago that no-one really knows the facts.

But then people appreciated story in those days. Not like now when everything has to be so boringly cut and dried.

We need a new movement - kind of post modernism - anyone with me ?

[hackmum]

Juggling: you're thinking of Pope Joan who, to be fair, probably didn't exist. The papal chair with a hole was supposedly introduced after Pope Joan was discovered to be female.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Puts one in mind of the infamous papal chair (with a hole in seat) where they apparently used to test to make sure Pope-to-be had balls and all appropriate bits.
Also I heard it didn't stop at least one female Pope slipping through the net and even going on to have a child (shock horror !) whilst in the job.

[seeker]

As I said, I'm sure it's be ok if you were a woman so long as you're not practising........

[niminypiminy]

Apologies Boffinmum if you are indeed a churchgoer - though it still wasn't hugely funny.

[BoffinMum]

niminy thinks Christians never laff.

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Ooh, intriguing ....

[BoffinMum]

How do you know I don't go to church? I might be an ex chorister communicant member of the C of E with high level engagement in church matters at Church House

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Well I enjoyed it niminy !

(no need to get all niminypiminy about it ? )

[niminypiminy]

It would probably help Boffinmum, if you were to start going to church .... Oh! it was a joke! What rapier sharp wit you have!

[BoffinMum]

Informed DS1 (15) that I am planning gender reassignment in order to become a bishop, but that I plan to stay with his dad but just enjoying a celibate relationship. The lad ran out of the room so fast you couldn't see him for dust!

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

OK, I should be more generous perhaps ...

[niminypiminy]

Orthodox bishops are normally monks (and therefore celibate), while priests are seen as 'secular' clergy, that is, they are out in the world, and are therefore able to marry.

[KayHarker]

Um no, I wouldn't have thought so

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Can they get divorced if a promotion is in the offing - I guess not ?!

[KayHarker]

Orthodox priests can be married - it's their bishops who must be unmarried.

[MiniTheMinx]

I don't think it's only catholic priests, what about Greek Orthodox, I thought they were mostly celibate.

[DizzyHoneyBee]

LaCiccolina, maybe I should ask our vicar where her wife is then?! :)

I'm not convinced that it's necessary to ask bishops to remain celibate. We don't know that Jesus did after all.

Would God mind if they weren't?

[alemci]

They are not celibate if they are married or you hope not. but is this any different any other long term married couple Christians are very pro- marriage in my experience.

It is only the catholics who have single men as priests as Christ was not married so they follow him. I don't think this is a good idea - think of Thornbirds and Maeve Binchey novels.

[LaCiccolina]

Dizzy, I don't know specifics but every film and parish I've been in has a vicar with a vicars wife. (Or a very old man on his own) Never occurred to me that cofe were supposed to be single/celibate/chaste.

[DizzyHoneyBee]

In what way does the C of E decision differ to the requirement for Catholic priests to be celibate, or from the situation with regard to homosexual C of E clergy?

[LaCiccolina]

The thing I really don't get, on top of all mentioned above, is that you could now be gay in the church, but please really don't be a woman????? How come this one gets through but the other doesn't? I really don't understand.... :(

It pains me to say this but the c of e church is becoming in recent months somewhat of a laughing stock to me. Im finding it harder to say I'm associated to it. I'd rather just be Christian I think. Sad sad sad......

[mummyonvalium]

mum2bless - how would you know though whether he was celibate or not? Gay or not? He may have made a decision to love someone but not to have relations because he believed wholeheartedly in the scripture, as you do? There are plenty of people who are like this.

I take your point that someone who is Christian should be an example to others, but there are bigger and more important ways of telling if this is the case than whether or not he has feelings towards men.

[trockodile]

Getting the thread back on topic I thought this was an interesting story-
m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/06/why-gay-bishops-have-to-lie
Giles Fraser agrees with you BeyondCrazy-that if people made less hoo ha about what goes on in the bedroom that homosexual sex would be considerably more boring and vanilla!
Mum2bless-of course you can have an opinion. I just cannot agree that smoking is in any way comparable to homosexuality. Homosexual love is no more harmful than heterosexual. Conversely hatred,injustice,bullying-which IMO includes telling people that the way they love and who they love is unnatural and wrong-that is harmful to people leading to psychological trauma, suicide and ruined lives.
Interestingly of course 100 years ago, smoking was normal,natural and everyone did it-as we evolve, things change!