UK Parliament attempted to “force same-sex marriage” on Church, Archbishop Claims

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is currently under fire from Anglicanism around the world for moving to legalise gay marriage, has claimed that Parliament attempted to “force same-sex marriage” on the Church of England.

The Church of England, or ‘C of E,’ as England’s established church, was exempted from having to officiate same-sex weddings under legislation institutionalising gay marriage introduced by the nominally Conservative Party, despite an equality regime that would otherwise have penalised them for discrimination.

As the country’s notionally right-wing governing party continues to drift further left, however, senior figures including Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt have put the Church of England under increasing pressure to wed gay couples — with Archbishop Welby now alleging he was actually “summoned twice to Parliament, and threatened with parliamentary action to force same-sex marriage on us”, according to The Telegraph.

“In the last few weeks, as part of our discussions about sexuality and the rules around sexuality in the Church of England, I talked of our interdependence with all Christians, not just Anglicans, particularly those in the global south with other faith majorities,” he said in a speech at a plenary meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council gathered in Ghana over the weekend.

Welby also stated that “[o]bedience to God comes before loyalty to country,” and that he said this to “some Members of Parliament” who did not agree — though this may be a deliberate oversell of his traditionalist credentials, given that he and other woke C of E bishops have recently upset global Anglicans by voting to bless same-sex marriages, even if they are not yet wed.