After meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for a “cool and deliberate” conversation, the comedian stated that the church’s position was untenable.
Sandi Toksvig said that the Archbishop of Canterbury agreed that progress on same-sex marriage in the Church of England would be “glacial.”
The comedian disclosed that she had met with Justin Welby for a “long-promised coffee” and that the conversation had been “calm and deliberate,” but that the church’s attitude was “untenable.”
She stated in a video that it was evident that the “Church of England and the culture it pretends to represent are wildly out of sync.”
After she conveyed her dismay over the archbishop’s reaffirmation of the church’s 1998 gay sin declaration, they met.
The archbishop previously stated that he supported the Church of England’s plans to bless same-sex couples. But that he would not personally carry them out due to his “pastoral connection with the entire communion.”
In her video, Toksvig remarked, “Yesterday I had coffee, well, tea, with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Which is a statement I never thought I would ever utter.”
“From yesterday’s conversation, it is very evident that the State’s Church of England and the people it claims to represent are completely out of step.
“Justin was eager for me to see that they are making progress. But he acknowledged that any development if it occurs at all, will be glacial.”
She also stated that it was “quite evident” that different groups of the international Anglican Communion were “in part held together at the expense of the LGBT+ community’s human rights.”
“It’s not okay. “I told you so,” she said.
Toksvig urged the Archbishop to come out as a gay supporter.
She said, “I urged Justin to come out immediately. I am coming out as a gay ally without intending to make a surprise disclosure about his sexual orientation.
“Essentially, to advocate for love, love for all without exception, as opposed to the current Orwellian viewpoint, according to which it appears that we are all created equal, but some are more equal than others”.
I hope that will occur, but I have no intention of waiting for the church.
In the next weeks, I will seek out the LGBT+ community and supporters to determine what can be done.
“The current circumstance is untenable. In the interim, kindly. Come out for love, everybody!”
Church expresses regret for shameful treatment of LGBTQI+ individuals
Last Monday, the church issued an official apology for its “reprehensible” treatment of LGBTQI+ individuals.
It followed its announcement that it would not permit same-sex couples to wed in its churches. But would bless same-sex civil marriages for the first time.
