Bishops contend that modifications are part of «pastoral provision», not doctrinal revisions.
Important choices, such as whether priests can officiate same-sex civil marriages and how to accommodate people who are against same-sex marriage blessings, can only be determined following «further work» by the House of Bishops, the announcement stated on Friday, churchtimes.co.uk reports.
At a press conference looking at the papers for the upcoming meeting of the General Synod (13-15 November), the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, insisted that neither item was being put off.
«It’s not deferring, but it’s recognising that in terms of moving both those forward, not just more work but — certainly in terms of the formal structural pastoral reassurance — more listening needs to be done», she said.