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WELSH BISHOP CELEBRATES FIRST GAY BLESSING IN CHURCH OF WALES.

FATHER LEE AND FABIANO ON WEDDING DAY

This is a landmark and a really big step – a time to rejoice,” said Father Lee Taylor.

Father Lee and his partner Fabiano Da Silva Duarte have become what is thought to be the first same-sex couple to be officially blessed by the Church in Wales.

It comes after the Church’s governing body approved a new service of blessing for same-sex couples in September.

The move has put the Church in Wales at odds with its sister Anglican church, the Church of England, which forbids clergy from blessing gay couples.

Father Lee said the service, at St Collen’s Church, in Llangollen, Denbighshire, was “extremely special”.

“Our civil partnership took place at our local registry office in London in 2008. Although this was an important step for us it didn’t really feel like an occasion for great celebration back then,” he said.

“The ceremony was short and no religious content was permitted. It didn’t feel like a solemn and sacred moment.

“So this [blessing] is a really big step. It’s an opportunity to celebrate our love and union in the presence of God. It is exciting – a time to rejoice.”

He added: “We both have a deep faith and love of God and the church has always played an important part in our lives.

“We are very excited to have made this next step in our journey together.”

With a choir, bell ringers and family and friends attending, Father Lee said the ceremony had the “look and smell” of a traditional wedding.

“It has been a very moving and meaningful service for us. It had all the bells and whistles but without the actual marriage part,” added Father Lee.

Bishop of St Asaph, the Right Reverend Gregory Cameron
BISHOP GREGORY CAMERON

The Scottish Episcopal Church became the first Anglican church in the UK to allow same-sex marriages in 2017.

Other Christian denominations in the UK that permit same-sex marriages include the Quakers in Britain, the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, and the United Reformed Church.

PAT SAYS

I have even blessing gay unions for well over 30 years.

God is love. And wherever there is love there is God.

When it comes to same sex love why is it that so many people are concentrated on what such couples DO sexually?

Sexual intimacy is only one small aspect of a committed loving relationship – as anybody who has lived in such a relationship will tell you.

Love can never be a sin.

THE NEW INCUMBENT OF TUAM SHOPPING FOR BREAKFAST

He looks like a typical ACP man?

114 replies on “WELSH BISHOP CELEBRATES FIRST GAY BLESSING IN CHURCH OF WALES.”

9.57: Leave him alone. We don’t require a trawl through his life. That’s totally unnecessary. You are such a rotten person to even suggest this idea. What a horrible person you must be! Ugliness of mind and heart.

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9.57 pm
It is as bit odd!
Seems he fell in love and chose to leave.
All those years at seminary, what a waste.

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How is it a waste? He found true love. Circumstance and fate, that’s what you lack……they

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They/It/Them and whatever yiu’re having yourself Behhy. Flung in love often happebe at the most unexpected times and in strange ways. If it’s true live, That’s what matters. Doubt that you’ve found it yet!! 👄💜👜👠👒👢….search harder, Beginning..

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I don’t think former Fr. Thomas Kent needs an investigation. You are probably some old queen cleric from his diocese no longer able to drool over him at deanery meetings. Let the lad enjoy his life and love whoever he wants and whenever he wants. Though I think he should seek to remove himself from the clerical state voluntary as soon as possible.

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@ 9:49 am
No, he should have just shagged him and then moved on to hundreds of subsequent sexual encounters, as most RC priests seem to do. That way, he would have a content and fulfilled life.

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9.49 am

Absolutely correct. It may not even last. Silly to throw caution to the wind especially if he has only know the bf for a short while.

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11.01 am
Oh love do shut up.
Telling someone like me to ‘try harder’. I’ve been married for the past 25 years
LOL at you! LOL LOL LOL.

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Yeah he ran off with my mum feel free to investigate it. All he has done is ruin my family. The worst part is that I’m only 14 and I have an 11 year old sister. He is the rotten man. He was supposed to set an example as a priest. To put into perspective how evil he is, he started a prayer group at my local church just so that he had an excuse to meat my mum. I truly hate him

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What a wonderful good news story. It is an amazing moment for this couple. I really believe that if two men or two women are deeply in love and desire a Christian blessing it should be given to them within a church setting with family and friends. If their love is true, it should be affirmed and celebrated and religiously if that is the desire of a couple. God bless this couple.

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Congratulations to Father Lee and his partner Fabiano Da Silva Duarte on their Wedding Day. Health and Happiness to both of them.

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6.25 pm
Can’t you read properly?
They had a Civil Partnership in 2008!
What they have recently had is a BLESSING and not a WEDDING.

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Relationships/civil/partnerships/marriages can be difficult and hard work at times, so surely it is a good thing to have anything, such as prayers and blessings that help people to be happy and stay together.
David Cameron said that changing the Tory ambivalence/hostility to same sex marriage was actually a conservative thing to do, since it would aid and promote stability.

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This is wonderful news. A few weeks back in a funeral our local PP paid tribute to a big lesbian couple who were together for 17 years. This is the way forward. Pat would you have celebrated your Union in a church?

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I’m more comfortable with a civil partnership but I give thanks for all the good things in my life everyday.

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So long as they don’t claim it to be marriage, let them claim to have have whatever union they like or think they’re getting.

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I want to politely and respectfully say that man and woman coming together is part of the Natural Reproductive Order. The LGBT community come from the Natural Reproductive Order.
It is a wonderful thing to bless the love of the LGBT community. The Christian community and the LGBT community can live in unity, in respect of the Natural Reproductive Order but also in respect of the love of the LGBT community.
Pax.

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I love your summary of this article. Love can never be a sin but when I’m in a relationship with a local parish priest, I can’t help but feel like it is a sin. Guilt and shame is what I feel. Worthless and frustrated also.

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Ethan @ 2.58AM – late night early morning!!!!
Why in the name of all that’s good and holy would you or indeed anyone in their right mind ever consider the want to be in a relationship with “as you state” a local parish priest or indeed any member of the Religious? Are you serious when you say this or is it because you feel lonely and would like to dream of the idea of having a relationship with a member of a Religious Order? Cop yourself on Ethan or whatever your real name is and stay away from this idea. Anyone putting a comment on a blog at the hour of 2.58AM in the morning must have had a hard night and probably their faculties are not the best. When you have a good sleep you will be in a different place.

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Ethan @ 2.58am
What a lovely name, probably called after St. Ethan, Patron Saint of Goofs. Yes Ethan, that is what you are, a Goof, if you think it’s ok to be involved with a parish priest. “Love can never be a sin” but unfortunately if what you are saying is true, it is a very serious sin for you so I suggest you get yourself to a confessor and clear your conscience of your wrongdoing. You will be absolved from your sin and for God’s sake and your own, stay away from your parish priest. Shure all of us asthor are human and have crushes from time to time and our hearts sthop when we see a nice priest in the distance but the buck sthops there we don’t end up attracting him/them to us, we walk away with our heads in the air no matter what. Good luck with making your confession. May the Holy Spirit guide you asthor.

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Pat, this is the beginning of the end of the RCC. What truly scandalous stuff I have read. I am not homophobic at all but marriage is between a man and a woman.

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4.24: This wedding blessing was not done by the RCC…. be very clear. It’s Anglicanism gone all confused again..

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This is wonderful and sadly it will be met on this blog by many Cathbots who will spout the most disgusting rhetoric. Love is love, that’s all the gay community ever wanted, to be allowed to love and join society as acknowledged equals. It is utterly shameful that it took a fight to achieve that but, if that’s what it took then it needed to be done.
I’m proud of where we’ve come to as a society. The people of the South voted personally for the right to be treated equally, the people of the North needed Westminster to intervene and allow what the overwhelming majority wanted but a very small minority were doing all they could to prevent.
While issues like homophobia need worked on to allow inherently equal people to live peacefully in society, it really is time to move on. Love is love and love can now be acknowledged, now other injustices facing society need to be focused on.
As we now focus on other issues facing society, we need to take a moment to remember those who lived in times when this was unimaginable and mourn so many lives lost tragically.

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Bp Pat does your denomination leave this to the discretion of individual bishops and oratory pastors within it? If the former, I respect your discretion in your cases.
As an individual I think it generally sounder to discourage “church weddings”, because the reality is that human beings wed in the presence of witnesses and a Registry Office person (historically, a parson was the best placed person to keep a register).
One should ask a blessing from one’s friends in whom one can include clergy in their personal capacity if one likes to.
This would stave off all the attempts by strong-armers to creat false ambiguities while ordinary humanity tries to freely research Holy Spirit Scripture meanings.
It’s to be noted the two men actually had a civil partnership. I think some churches sometimes hold blessings for all sorts of purposes.
I am not convinced a civil partnership in the law of the land has “sexual” connotations. This idea that churches have to be sex mad (which states are now copying) stems from Wilhelm Reich, and was reinforced by JP II combined with his false “communion” obsession.
In the last 100 years the RCC has placed too much “trust” in ordinary people’s personal family arrangements and sentimentality as its free tickets to continuation.

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Sincere congratulations to Fr Lee and Fabiano. Fr Lee is an extraordinary person who truly is called to ministry. He previously worked as a barman, verger, choirmaster and organist. I enjoyed his online recitals ‘pimms and hymns’. Congratulations, love you guys x

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Hi Pat I am not sure where your opinion lies with this? Do you think priests should not have to be celibate and should have the option/right/ability to forge a meaningful relationship?

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The following should celibacy rules should apply to the priesthood in my humble opinion…

Married Candidates

The Church is concerned that there should be no potential for conflict between the responsibilities of ordained ministry and the need of a couple in the early years of their married life to devote their time and energy to maturing in their relationship and to caring for young children. For that reason, a married man must have reached the age of thirty five before he can be ordained to the permanent diaconate. He must also have the formal consent of his wife.

Unmarried Candidates

Unmarried candidates must have reached the age of twenty five before they can be ordained as permanent deacons. In keeping with the tradition of the Church, those who are ordained as single men make a solemn promise of celibacy.

Pax.

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Bishop Gregory Cameron has already cemented his legacy as a LGBTQIXYZ legend.
He should be the main celebration of this story.
Great news though thanks for sharing.

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The Church of Wales!! Don’t make me laugh. They will be marrying sheep next and there is plenty of them in Wales.

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Next you’ll be saying the Free Ps are catholics. Why does everyone want the brand name?

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This must be the “branch theory” the Anglicans invented and which the other parts of the alleged tree reject.

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The Evangelical Fellowship of the Church in Wales would be amused to hear that they are Catholics.

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TBH it would be worth calling yourself Catholic just to see the Romans’ meltdown. I’m a Unitarian. A Catholic one.
It would be like trying to trademark the word holy. 😂

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The new Archbishop looks totally cringe in his Mr Humble photo opportunity. He’s had his reward. Ostentatious displays of humility, such as Bergoglio goes in for (eg stepping out of a airliner chartered for €1m to step into a Fiat 500 during papal visits) is not, in fact, humble.

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This is not going to happen in the RC church in my lifetime. The only way to have that kind of relationship is to live a double life or leave. It’s time a new support group for priests leaving active ministry was founded. Advent has had its day. I just went onto their website, and the latest AGM minutes were from 2009! Many former priests have successful careers, some in the professions or business. They should be prepared to help others who are thinking of leaving and provide a mentoring service. I am sure such an organisation would receive charitable status and do much good.

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I like doing this. By the time a Romanist retorts yet another RC minister has appeared on the abuse tracker. It’s like taking sweeties from children. 🤣https://doy.org/rev-marian-babjak/

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Ethan @ 2.58am
“Love can never be a sin” but unfortunately if what you are saying is true, it is a very serious sin for you so I suggest you have your conscience cleared of your wrongdoing. You will be absolved and for God’s sake and your own, stay away from your parish priest. Were you called after the Saint, Ethan – know as Patron of Goofs. Shure all of us asthor are human and have crushes from time to time and our hearts sthop when we see a nice priest in the distance but the buck sthops there we don’t end up attracting him/them to us, we walk away with our heads in the air no matter what. Good luck with making your confession. May the Holy Spirit guide you asthor.

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Bishop Campbell looks as though he could do with laying off on the Welsh Cakes. Big Boy ! Other than that observation, I am quite comfortable with the Reverend having a blessing of his partnership with the (Brazilian ? – they so often are !) boyfriend / partner. Nothing wrong with asking God to bless them and their relationship. After all, we ask God to bless building, animals, warships, houses etc. etc. I don’t really follow or get or sign on with the equality bit of the LGBTQI etc argument about everybody being treated the same. Just because heterosexuals can marry, sacramentally, because the Church says that marriage is for a man and a woman, why should they feel that they are not equal ? Two gays are a different thing – either two men or two women. Ergo, they can’t have a sacramental marriage, according to the Church. Why should they be bothered ? Just go off and do your own thing. As for the Church, I guess if pushed they could give blessings, even something called marriage to LGBTQI couples, and then have another label – sacramental marriage – for heterosexuals. There could be gay / LGBTQI marriage, and then sacramental marriage for the breeders. However, I expect elements of the LGTBQI lobby would still argue the equality things. Although I suspect that even if they got what they wanted they would still find something else to feel excluded over. So, on the basis they they will never be happy with whatever they are given, let’s just leave it as it is, with the possibility of being blessed in church and made to feel welcome. Mind you, in the RC Church, even if they did that, and were embraced, and told that they were loved and valued, they would still be considered ‘intrinsically disordered’. Shit, it’s a mess….

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@3.12pm Actually, the Bishop is quite slim. Certainly, the photograph exaggerates his girth but this is a poor representation of his stature. If you had bothered to research and check this point your rather derogatory comment would have been avoided. Maybe the message is ‘Do better next time’.

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Big bones ? That’s usually an excuse for filling your face too much. As is. ‘it’s genetic’. I think the Lord Bishop is a Big Boy. Of course, Big has become the norm these days. Big and Fat People now think of themselves as normal. It’s only the Obese that are considered Too Big. Sorry, Campbell is a Lard Boy.

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Did the new ++Tuam arrange for a photographer to go out and spontaneously capture him going shopping? Pathetic.

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3.50: Sir, the adjective “pathetic” fittingly belongs to you and your observation. What a most inane, stupid comment!! Get a life, you phillistine.

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‘father’ at 4:38, we are all very impressed by the Latin etymology of the word you so frequently use to describe other people’s comments. Since you can’t spell philistine may I suggest you work on one language at a time?

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@3.50pm Was it worth making this point? Does it add anything to your understanding of anything? No, it most certainly does not. Please desist from making such cheap points in the future. All readers of this blog deserve a higher quality of comment..

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This is agoodnews story
Two generations ago, left-handed children were harrassed. Future generations will condemn this generation for the way gay people are treated.

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Patsy there is a wonderful open letter by a Polish Dominican theologian Fr. Wojcioch Golaski OP sent to his humbleness about the dreadful rigid Traditionis Custodes. I thought you should read it for your edification. You can read it on Rorate Caeli.

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5.07: You were rightly bitten in that a**e brain that you have, thus your silly, pathetic riposte! Your original ignorant comment at 3.50 indicates a low level intelligence. 5.07 is correct about you. Incidentally I speak 4 languages…

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6:01 Your comment would have been improved by a semi colon rather than a comma after the word ‘have’.
A**e is a noun and never a verb even in slang, so you have misused the word.
You omitted ‘of’ after ‘level’.
Is English the seventh of your four languages?
Pat at 6:02, no they all are. 😂

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Pat, why do you tolerate people on your blog who try to outsmart one another with correcting grammar, spellings, syntax, commas, etc. They are the most boring of commenters. A waste of time and space. I am so happy for the couple who received a blessing on the occasion of their wedding. When we reflect on the two primary commands of Jesus – distilled from a list of over 600 – love of God and love of neighbour – I believe the 100’s of man made religious laws, restrictions and oppressive morality particular to all religions have to be reexamined. I believe any rule or teaching from any institution, society or religious grouping which instills hatred of people because of their sexuality must be immediately reversed and redefined to be respectful of and gracious to gay people. No one has alright to hurt others because they don’t fit neatly into a black and white morality.

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Pat,#Just watching the Mary McAleese programme on RTE1. The old Mary has reappeared, mild, balanced and sympathetically catholic. Has she lais her anger aside?
I hope so.

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Archdiocese of Liverpool’s Catholic Social Services (renamed: Newgent Care in the 1990s) which is headed by Father Michael Fitzsimons, has been slammed by an emergency investigation by government body, the report highlighted serious Safeguarding failings.
A ctalogue of failings at children’s home banned from taking any more kids.
Inspectors said the home, which at the time of inspection housed 11 children, many experiencing emotional, social or learning difficulties, was “failing to provide effective care and support” to the children in its care.
#
“Serious safeguarding shortfalls were identified, including improper documentation of physical intervention, a Failure to properly record feedback to Cildrenen on Complaints made as well as unclean bedrooms and in one case a child sleeping on a broken bed.”
In addition to the above, the following elements of the emergency inspection report raise extremely alarming concerns…
“Records of physical intervention do not provide a detailed account of the incident and do not include whether children have sustained an injury or the child’s view about what happened.”
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https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/catalogue-failings-childrens-home-banned-22173584
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Father Michael Fitzsimons who is on charge of Liverpool Catholic Social Services Twitter account:
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https://mobile.twitter.com/fitzsimonsmike

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