The Church of England has announced that the Living in Love and Faith book is to be published on 9 November 2020. The book is subtitled “Christian teaching and learning about identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage.” This doesn’t fill me with the excitement I might feel were the Church, after six decades of reports about to publish something radically positive for LGBTI people. Rather, it confirms that I am likely to have read it all before. What has motivated me to blog now is that the LLF book is being published in the aftermath of publication of a series of devastating reports about safeguarding and abuse in the Church, of which more later.

The book blurb says “the life and mission of the Church of England – and of the worldwide Anglican Communion – are affected by the deep, and sometimes painful, disagreements about these matters, divisions brought into sharper focus because of society’s changing perspectives and practices, especially in relation to LGTBI+ people.” The blurb goes on to say that Living in Love and Faith sets out to:

• inspire people to think more deeply both about what it means to be human, and to live in love and faith with one another.

tackle the tough questions and divisions among Christians about what it means to be holy in a society in which understandings and practices of gender, sexuality and marriage continue to change.
explore these matters by studying what the Bible, theology, history, and the social and biological sciences have to say.
explore current Christian thinking and discussions about human identity, sexuality, and marriage in the light of the good news of Jesus Christ.
consider what it means for us as individuals and as a church to be Christ-like when it comes to matters of identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage.
invite the reader into a conversation between some of the people who have been involved in writing this book who have come to different conclusions.

The book ends with an appeal from the Bishops to join them in a period of discernment and decision-making.

A history of reports recommending a period of discernment

I posted a history of the reports and teaching documents previously published (or suppressed) by the Church here. I doubt that the new LLF book is going to include anything that hasn’t been written in previous reports. Perhaps the bishops’ appeal that we join with them in decision making is new. Are we really going to be invited to help the bishops make a decision?

What definitely isn’t new is the appeal that we join with the bishops in a period of discernment. Homosexual Relationships (1979) envisaged “a period during which widespread discussion takes place.” The purpose of Issues in Human Sexuality (1991) was to “promote an educational process” encouraging “clergy chapters and congregations to find time for prayerful study and refection.” Some Issues in Human Sexuality (2003) hoped the report would “be a model for continuing discussions throughout the Church.” The Report of The House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality (2013) proposed a process for listening to each other. I doubt that the 2020 version of hope is going to achieve the breakthrough that some of us have been anticipating for over forty years.

Let me turn to the recently published reports on abuse and safeguarding.

The Living in Love and Faith book is being published just weeks after three major reports about failures of safeguarding in the Church.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

The report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was published on Tuesday 6 October 2020. The report said the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual predators within the Church. From the 1940s to 2018, 390 people who were clergy or in positions of trust associated with the Church had been convicted of sexual offences against children. Many of the cases demonstrated the Church of England’s failure to take abuse seriously, creating a culture where abusers were able to hide. The report concluded that in neglecting the well-being of children in favour of protecting its own reputation, the Church of England was in direct conflict with its own moral commitment to provide care and love for the innocent and the vulnerable. Responding to the report the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “The report published today is a stark and shocking reminder of how so many times we have failed – and continue to fail – survivors. Apologies are vital, but they are not enough. We have to listen. We have to learn. And we have to act.” The Archbishop and other bishops have said exactly the same again and again and done very little. As with the reports into homosexuality, bishops lack the courage to respond and act appropriately and speedily and are not to be trusted.

A Betrayal of Trust

A Betrayal of Trust is an independent report published on 22 October 2020 about the Church’s handling of allegations concerning a former Bishop of Chester following a police investigation into allegations of sexual offences against children and adults by the Hubert Victor Whitsey dating from 1974 onwards when he was Bishop of Chester and from 1981 while he was retired and living in Blackburn diocese. The report concluded that Whitsey sexually abused a large number of children and young persons and vulnerable adults during a period from 1966 until after he had retired in December 1981. He groomed his victims, and often their families, to enable his abuse. He used his position in the Church to abuse both prospective ordinands, children and young people. Numbers of senior figures in the Church failed to respond to victims and continue to lack understanding about the need to act for the victims of abusive clergy and bishops.

The Independent Safeguarding Review: lessons learnt from events in the parishes of Stowe and Maids Moreton, 2012-2019

Adi Cooper’s report published on 23 October 2020 investigated the murder of Peter Farquhar in 2017 by Ben Field, both members of Stowe Parish Church. Peter Farquhar struggled to reconcile his conservative Christian beliefs with his sexual orientation. His closet homosexuality and need for an emotionally close relationship had been exploited by Ben Field who manipulated him. Farquhar’s sexual orientation was known but not acknowledged by most people who knew him. Stowe church has an evangelical theology and conservative culture, which includes ‘traditional’ views regarding homosexuality and homosexual practice which were generally perceived as deviant and wrong. A culture of secrecy and non-disclosure regarding homosexuality may have made it difficult for people to raise concerns.

The report found that the “policies of the Church of England regarding homosexual practice and approach to sexuality and relationships put Peter Farquhar at risk and vulnerable to exploitation”. “Negative attitudes towards homosexuality and homosexual practice in the Church of England reinforce internalised homophobia ….” The report said the C of E’s insistence that sex is for married heterosexual couples only “may lead people to lie about the reality of their sexual lives” and “exposes people to risk.”

The IICSA report covers a period from the 1940s to 2018. A Betrayal of Trust and the Stowe Safeguarding Review both cover recent events, the former referring to current failures by bishops to respond to victims appropriately. The statement about the policies of the Church of England regarding homosexuality in the Stowe report is contemporary. This is what the Church of England’s attitude is today:

The policies of the Church of England regarding homosexual practice and approach to sexuality and relationships put people at risk and vulnerable to exploitation.
Negative attitudes towards homosexuality and homosexual practice in the Church of England reinforce internalised homophobia.
The C of E’s insistence that sex is for married heterosexual couples only can lead people to lie about the reality of their sexual lives and exposes people to risk.

This is the current culture of the C of E to which the Living in Love and Faith report is addressed. Despite the progress in understanding made in the previous reports about homosexuality published by the Church contemporary practice and culture is still shockingly abusive and homophobic, including the internalised homophobia and repression by bishops who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Many people are implicated in abuse or in covering up abuse to protect the reputation of bishops and senior clergy and of the church. I feel contaminated by this relentless covering-up of abuse having experienced the high degree of integrity in many of the people and networks I was involved with for many years in Changing Attitude England. I wish I saw any sign of an awakening in the Church but I do not.

I am reading Jonathan Sacks’ recently published book Morality. Which moral code are you observing is a question I would address to the bishops. "In the light of the good news of Jesus Christ,” to quote the report, what is the content of the good news in the LLF book for LGBTI Christians who express their desires and commitments in love, intimacy and marriage as freely as heterosexual people but are not only judged for living openly by the hierarchy of the church but are actively excluded? I am excluded because my vision of Jesus is not accepted by the institutional Church.

The LLF report must be judged by the degree to which it recognises the systemic culture of prejudice and homophobia in the C of E and makes recommendations to deal with this effectively and speedily.