Conservative questions for a fruitful dialogue
The Church of Ireland is engaged in a sustained process in which people with various differing and sometimes divergent convictions are seeking to establish what an official church position might look like on issues to do with sexuality. In particular, the process is to do with the nature and validity of homosexual relationships and the issue of gay marriage or civil partnership. Some of the exchanges have been thoughtful and courteous; others have been vitriolic and dismissive. What makes this particularly regrettable is that, given the current public mood on such issues, animosity tends to become public news.
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Ron Elsdon
Rector of St Bartholomew’s in Belfast.