Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, currently under fire from worldwide Anglicanism for moving to bless gay couplings, has claimed Parliament tried to “force same-sex marriage” on the Church of England.
As England’s established church, the Church of England, or ‘C of E’, was exempted from having to officiate same-sex weddings under legislation institutionalising gay marriage introduced by the nominally Conservative Party, despite an equality regime which might otherwise have penalised them for discrimination.
As the country’s notionally right-wing governing party continues to drift further left, however, senior figures including Cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt have put the Church of England under increasing pressure to wed gay couples — with Archbishop Welby now alleging he was actually “summoned twice to Parliament, and threatened with parliamentary action to force same-sex marriage on us”, according to The Telegraph.