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.