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Church of England to rethink same-sex marriage

Kaya Burgess, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Times
The Right Rev Dame Sarah Mullally said bishops would “draw up scenarios for different outcomes” to be put to the synod
The Right Rev Dame Sarah Mullally said bishops would “draw up scenarios for different outcomes” to be put to the synod
YUI MOK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Kaya Burgess, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Times

The Church of England could reverse its opposition to same-sex marriage by as early as 2022 after bishops pledged to make a “decision” about issues relating to sexuality.

The church’s House of Bishops announced yesterday that it was embarking for the first time on a formal “decision-making” process over the church’s attitude to sex, sexuality, marriage and gender. The bishops gave themselves a deadline of 2022 to draw up proposals to be put to the Church’s General Synod, which has the final say over changes to doctrine.

Asked if this could include a recommendation for a synod vote on whether to permit same-sex marriages within the church for the first time, the Bishop of Coventry said this was “only one question among many” that they