A Parliament petition has been started which calls for the government to bar bishops from sitting in the House of Lords – after the Church of England sanctioned the U.S. Episcopal Church for its support of gay rights.
The petition on petition.parliament.uk says, ‘With the publication of the Church of England’s intention to sanction the US Episcopal Church over the latter’s sympathetic stance towards equal marriage, the C of E is quite out of step with UK Law and indeed common humanity. Thus we feel quite strongly these bishops have no place in our government.’
Between eight to 12 conservative archbishops from Africa and Asia threatened to leave the recent meeting of Anglican leaders unless more liberal countries ‘repented’, or were thrown out by Archbishop Welby. The Archbishop has since come under fire for the decision, with MP and former vicar Chris Bryant calling the decision ‘profoundly evil’ and stating it as the reason he quit the Anglican church.
The petition has 1,592 signatures so far.
