Church of Ireland Synod resolution on same-sex relationships unacceptable

As Church of Ireland members, who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, we were not consulted as the Bishop of Down and Dromore and Archbishop of Dublin drafted the resolutions on sexuality before General Synod this week, which stigmatises any sexual relationship outside opposite-sex marriage as not ‘normative’.

Had we been, we would have been clear that writing 655 words about people in same-gender relationships without one good thing to say about us is unacceptable.

By stating faithfulness within marriage is the only ‘normative’ context for sex, Resolution 8A imposes a condition that people in faithful same-gender relationships cannot comply with. The implication that members of the Church in relationships other than marriage are in breach of the Catechism gives legitimacy, for the first time, to excluding lay people in same-gender relationships from Holy Communion.