Sky High

Win Sky+HD for a year and a trip to Barcelona

Navigation - link to other main sections from here

Skip Navigation

From The Times
November 14, 2005

Gay clergy may 'marry' in secret

By Ruth Gledhill
Fears of an “inquisition” over gay marriage in the Church of England are growing after the latest comments by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Dr Williams, speaking in Egypt, said: “If it can be established that a priest seeking to register a civil partnership is in fact active in a sexual union, then that priest is liable to the discipline of the Church.”

Civil partnerships between homosexual couples will become legal in the UK from next month, and up to 400 Church of England clergy who are in gay partnerships are expected to formalise their unions.

Bishops will be challenged on their approach to civil partnerships at the General Synod, which begins at Church House, Westminster, tomorrow.

The Rev Richard Kirker, of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, believes that many clergy will register their partnerships secretly to avoid what he describes as an “inquisition”.

Also in UK News

Also in News

Comment    

Matthew parris

open quote mark You'll laugh at what follows: I think there's a fair chance that Gordon Brown will try to bounce the opposition parties into some form of national government close quote mark

More...
Matthew Parris

Pictures of the Week

Folk dancers perform during the annual Dasara procession held at the Mysore Palace during the ’Vijaya Dashami’ celebrations in Mysore

A selection of the best images from around the world

Slide Show

Endangered species

Iberian Lynx

The Red list reveals that a quarter of world's mammals are now at risk of extinction

Slide Show

Comment Central

Brokers react at the stock market in Frankfurt, Germany

Baffled by the banks?

Top ten blogs to help you make sense of the crisis

    Money Central

    Piggy bank

    The six safest places to store your savings

      School Gate

      10 year old girls do their homework

      Why too much homework doesn't work

      Most Read

      Skip Most Read

      Today

      MOST COMMENTED

      Skip Editor's Pick

      Today

      MOST CURIOUS

      Skip Most Curious

      Today

      Focus Zone

      Purasia

      Asian Cuisine:

      Explore your passion for food with the delights of Thai, Indian & Chinese cooking

      A life more streamlined

      A Life More Streamlined:

      In our new series, Tony Hawks takes a dry, wry look at modern life - junk mail, interminable meetings and snooty sales assistants

      swimmer

      Triathlon Training:

      Read the training tips and advice that helped our London Triathletes

      Daniel Craig

      James Bond:

      Read our exclusive 100 Years of Fleming and Bond interactive timeline, packed with original Times articles and reviews

      ba business travel clouds

      Business Travel:

      The latest travel news plus the best hotels and gadgets for business travellers

      previous next
      Peter Sands...CEO...Standard Chartered.

      Andrew Davidson meets Peter Sands

      Services

      Croatia

      Croatia 8 days from £659

      Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian Coast and Montenegro

      Credit Crunched?

      Our Credit Clinic has free help and advice

      The Singapore skyline pictured at night

      Business City Guides

      Overseas contacts and local business information

      Popular Searches on Times Online

      best councils | books | chess | credit crunch | currency converter | fashion | football | formula 1 | london film festival | mortgages | pensions | podcasts | property | recipes | redundancy calculator | sudoku | wall street | wine

      Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles

      Classifieds 

      Cars

      Skip Cars of the Week

      Jaguar S-Type 3.0 SE

      2006
      £14,337

      BMW BMW 4.0 M3

      2008
      £39,937

      Car insurance

      Great car insurance deals online


      Jobs

      Skip Jobs of the Week
      CHIEF EXECUTIVE

      c.£75,000
      GlosFirstmeansbusiness
      Gloucestershire

      Demand Forecasting Analysts

      Competitive package
      Npower
      Midlands

      Bid Managers

      £ £32,795 - £41,545
      Universitry of Southampton
      Southampton

      Demand Forecasting Managers

      Competitive Package
      Npower
      West Midlands

      Properties

      Wandsworth Town

      1 & 2 Bed apartments
      From £249,995

      The First Group

      Great Dubai Investment Opportunities
      from £89,950

      One Housing Group

      low-cost ownership homes in London

      Holidays

      Skip Travel of the Week

      Funway Holidays Int Inc

      Las Vegas SALE!
      £POA

      Discover Captain Cook’s Hawaiian Islands

      With Ramblers Worldwide Holidays!
      £POA

      Advertise your holiday property online

      List your property with two leading travel websites
      £POA

      Travel insurance

      Great travel insurance deals online


      Place your advert now