[Magdalen] Conscience's clause

[Roger Stokes]

On 29/06/2015 19:03, Charles Wohlers wrote:
> I don't know for a fact, but I would very much doubt if that's true. I 
> do know it's not true in the Dioceses of Massachusetts and Vermont - 
> both of which are quite liberal and both of which states have had gay 
> marriage for a while now. Clergy in the Episcopal church are free to 
> refuse marriage to anyone for any reason. I believe such is not the 
> case in the C of E.

It was way back when I was a Curate in about 1973 that I realised that 
the Church of England's official position of the time was a load of 
baloney.  The son of the church's verger had gone through a form of 
marriage with a woman and the relationship broke down.  He went to see 
about a divorce and discovered that the woman was still legally married 
to someone else when they had "married".  The "marriage" was thus 
biganous and invalid so he was still a bachelor and entitled to marry in 
the parish church.

Likewise someone who had had a series of live-in partners but not 
married any of them could come along to the church and claim the right 
to be married there.  On the other hand a girl who had married as a 
teenager someone who was a right rogue and whom she then divorced was 
not entitled to get married in church.  This applied even decades later 
when she was in mid-life, been alone for perhaps 20 years and come to a 
real Christian faith.

At one stage the General Synod recognized that it was right that some 
people who had been divorced should be allowed to marry in church.  
Unfortunately they could not decide at the time, out of a number of 
options presented to them, who should decide after what process whether 
to allow a particular marriage.  Years later it was decided that the 
priest should make the decision, having had the couple fill in a form 
and interviewing them, and then informing the bishop of the decision.

If the decision is "No" then the couple can go to the priest of another 
parish where they meet the residence or other qualification and ask 
about getting married there.  The original priest then has to furnish 
the original form and the reasons for the decision but the second priest 
makes up theur own mind.

Roger

Roger