Governing Body of the Church in Wales

Extract

In his April Presidential Address the Archbishop noted a number of important current issues – gender, same-sex relationships, assisted dying and ecumenism – and said that he could not recall a Governing Body where so many important topics were all under discussion at the same time. Perhaps the most critical, however, was the Bishops' Code of Practice, published in advance of the Bill that was to come into effect in September to make it possible for women to be ordained as bishops. What followed would be a listening exercise, since no decision on the matter was required of the Governing Body. What all the issues highlighted, however, was that there was genuine principled disagreement among Christians about moral, doctrinal and ecumenical issues. Moreover, no-one approached those matters neutrally; all had been shaped one way or another by upbringing, education and life experiences to see things in certain ways.