ANY bishop who knowingly ordains an active homosexual as a priest in the Church of England will face an inquisition in a new type of heresy trial and could be defrocked, according to a new report.

A new category of “misconduct” is expected to be created in the Church when the General Synod meets in York this weekend in an attempt finally to halt the advancement of the pro-gay liberal agenda in the Church.

Bishops or priests who hold “unacceptably liberal” views on issues such as homosexual ordinations and same-sex marriages could be brought before the tribunals, being set up under the new Clergy Discipline (Doctrine) procedure to be debated today.

Even publishing an article advocating the case for non-celibate homosexual relations among priests could be enough to land a cleric in the doctrinal dock. The new Dean of St Albans, Dr Jeffrey John, is among the Church’s senior clergy who have in the past spoken publicly in support of homosexuals. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has also expressed liberal views on the subject in the past but is at present toeing the orthodox line for the sake of church unity.

Under the proposed wording for the new misconduct offence, clergy will face heresy trials for “professing, advocating or promoting beliefs which are incompatible with the doctrine of the Church of England by preaching or teaching or publicly communicating such beliefs”.

The profession of false doctrine in private will not be deemed an offence, unless it can be proven to involve preaching or teaching. Academic clergy would also be immune from prosecution, unless the accusers could prove a personal commitment to false doctrines being discussed in tutorials or lectures.

The definition would cover false doctrine communicated in a radio or television station, on the internet or on videotape. According to the report to be debated by the synod, the definition will also cover false doctrine expressed implicitly rather than expressly.

The report says: “Examples might include a bishop knowingly ordaining someone known to hold unorthodox views or to have a lifstyle inconsistent with the doctrine of the Church.”

This would mean that any bishop who turned a blind eye to a practising homosexual at ordination would risk his position. Clergy deemed to be in need of investigation would be summoned to a doctrinal disciplinary tribunal, where they would face a panel consisting of a lawyer, three bishops, two lay people and two other clergy.

If successful, the report’s proposals will represent a substantial victory for the conservative evangelicals in their battle against the Church’s liberal tendency. They will ensure that the issue of homosexuality remains once again the central topic at the five-day meeting of the synod in York.

Preaching on the eve of the synod, Dr Williams called on the Church to rediscover its sense of surprise and wonder in God if it was not to descend into cynicism and boredom.

The Archbishop was preaching at Sheffield Cathedral at a service to admit ten graduates of the city’s Church Army college to the office of evangelist in the established Church.

Dr Williams, vice-president of the Church Army, said: “Now you could be forgiven for thinking sometimes that the Church’s attitude to evangelists was simply to wind them up and let them go — preferably as far away as possible.” In a sermon where he quoted Oscar Wilde as well as the Bible, Dr Williams said there was more to an evangelist’s ministry than “a set of buttresses to keep the structure upright, a set of supports and footnotes”.

Dr Williams told the new evangelists, who included a former faith adviser to the Home Secretary, a former police officer and a former taxi driver, that they must not domesticate the Gospel or be domesticated by the Church. He said: “You are not the pet hamsters of the Church, you are not extras tacked on to the outside that the Church will forget about, although it will feel like that at times. You are there for the life and health of the Church and you will do your job if you keep your surprise alive.”

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