Edinburgh, Scotland -- The Scottish Episcopal Church was praised tonight by gay rights campaigners for declaring that being a practising homosexual was no bar to becoming a priest.
The view differs from the Anglican Communion in other parts of the world, which is in turmoil over the consecration of gay US bishop Gene Robinson.
The College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church said it had “never regarded the fact that someone was in a close relationship with a member of the same sex as in itself constituting a bar to the exercise of an ordained ministry”.
The statement was made on the church website in a response to a February meeting of 35 top world Anglican leaders.
The Scottish bishops also said clergy on occasion responded to requests to give a blessing to same-sex couples.
It is believed to be the first time the Scottish church – which has 45,000 members – has publicly declared their position on gay clergy and blessings of homosexual couples.
Their views were welcomed tonight by gay rights group Stonewall.
Spokesman Alan Wardle said: “We are not theologians but we welcome the sensible approach taken by the Scottish Episcopal Church.
“It strikes us as a real pity that the Anglican Church has been tearing itself to pieces over what seems a relatively trivial issue when they could be tackling more pressing matters like world poverty or the Aids epidemic.”
The statement comes at a delicate time for Anglicans worldwide and is in contrast to the Scottish Episcopal Church’s sister body, the Church of England, which will ordain homosexuals only if they are not in a physical relationship.
The issue of homosexuality last month threatened to split the international Anglican Communion.
Anglican leaders have criticised the US Episcopal Church over the consecration of Gene Robinson and the Anglican Church of Canada for its blessing of same sex unions and demanded they withdraw from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) for three years.
The Scottish bishops expressed regret at the decision to request the withdrawal of US and Canadian Churches from the ACC.
“We are conscious that as a church we are much indebted in our life both to a significant presence of persons of homosexual orientation, and also those whose theology and stance would be critical of attitudes to sexuality other than abstinence outside marriage,” they said.
“We rejoice in both.”