A Pastoral Letter - LLF & Inclusion
Pastoral Letter on Living in Love and Faith (LLF) and the Inclusion of LGBTQIA+ People in the Church of England
Copied to all Diocesan Bishops in the Church of England
On 15th October, the House of Bishops of the Church of England published an update on Living in Love and Faith (LLF). It now seems that the House of Bishops will not move towards "bespoke" services of blessing for same-sex couples. Nor will clergy in same-sex marriages be permitted to receive a license to minister in Church of England dioceses.
We receive this update with dismay and frustration. We lament the failure to make progress in the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people, both laity and clergy, in the life of the Church of England. We lament the failure of the House of Bishops in its communications on LLF to speak directly to and with LGBTQIA+ people, or even to refer to them/us in the October update.
The Society of Catholic Priests is the largest Anglican priestly society in the UK. It was founded after the ordination of women as priests in the Church of England in 1994 to advocate for and support an inclusive priestly spirituality and priests committed to catholic evangelism. We believe God calls people regardless of gender to receive the sacrament of ordination to the diaconate, priesthood and episcopate. And that God blesses those who seek to live in permanent, faithful and stable relationships, regardless of their sexual orientation, and that these relationships are as much an example of God’s love in the world as heterosexual relationships.
We call on members of SCP and all who wish to see greater inclusion in the Church's life to consider taking the following actions:
1) Pastoral Support - In his article "Winded After the Death of LLF", the Very Revd David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, noted that: 'None of my clergy colleagues have enquired as to how I am doing. No one from the bishop’s staff on which I sit have said a word.' We call on the members of SCP to offer urgent pastoral support to LGBTQIA+ people and allies who may be struggling in the wake of the House of Bishops' update. Many have experienced LLF as dehumanising and degrading, dispiriting and distressing. They/we need your personal support now, as well as your prayers.
2) Communicate Your Commitment to Inclusion - Those who oppose greater inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Church of England are vocal. Although powerful public statements of commitment to inclusion have been made by senior clerics in recent days, notably by cathedral deans, we call on people in all parts of the church's life, lay and ordained, to communicate their support for inclusion loudly and proudly, to their bishops and diocesan staff, to their local community and their congregations. Each of us who speaks in favour of inclusion helps to reclaim the narrative of what is "orthodox" or "catholic" from conservative evangelicals and conservative catholics. Christians who are "catholic" and who are "orthodox" do not necessarily agree with the conservative position.
3) Ensure Your Voice is Heard in Synod - The Church of England is governed by its General Synod, which is elected by its Deanery Synods and Diocesan Synods. Network with the inclusive groups on your Diocesan Synod to see what is being done and how you can help. Ensure that inclusive candidates are fielded for all vacant posts in Synods at all levels. Guidance on how to do these things effectively is available from Together for the Church of England. Consider financially contributing to the Inclusive Synod Election Campaign.
None of this is easy, and for those of us formed in catholic traditions of deference to our bishops, we find ourselves challenged and moved to speak out. It is not a small thing to publicly disagree with our bishops. Our hope for the Church is that it might live the promise of Jesus' prayer in John 17.21 'that they may all be one.' This is the vision to which the then Archbishops of Canterbury and York called us in the foreword to Living in Love and Faith (p.x). However, unity is not achieved by pretending that we agree with our bishops, or by disagreeing with them in private and dissembling with them in public.
We must be clear that we disagree with the direction of travel set by the House of Bishops. The October decision does not seem to come from the pastoral and spiritual perspective we expect from our bishops, and we are frustrated by the perceived lack of transparency. We call on all bishops who support a more progressive and inclusive approach than that taken by the House of Bishops as a whole to publicly say so.
The Provincial Council
The Society of Catholic Priests, European Province
Sunday 2nd November 2025
The Feast of All Saints
Title image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash