It was revealed yesterday that the Sydney Anglican Diocese, led by Archbishop Dr. Glenn Davies, has donated a whopping $1 million sum to the Coalition for Marriage, the foremost group campaigning for the ‘No’ side in the ongoing same-sex marriage postal survey.
Whilst not the biggest singular donation in the campaign, as it matches the $1m donation to the ‘Yes’ side from Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, the substantial amount from the church has ruffled many a feather, with many saying it’s funds that could be better spent by a religious body.
Today numerous Anglican leaders from across the country have come out against the decision, with many saying they are surprised by the move and calling it unwarranted.
Speaking to Fairfax, Sydney’s St James‘ rector Father Andrew Sempell says he was taken aback by the secretive move and that it doesn’t help the overall Anglican image:
There was no consultation, there was no open debate – and therefore no transparency in the decision.
We haven’t let go of Christendom all that much. We still think that we have a right to tell people what to do. This is one of the reasons we’re on the nose.
Even Reverend Michael Paget of St Barnabas, who is a supporter of the ‘No’ side, has said in a Facebook post he “disagree[s] with this decision and would have voted against it”, noting that the funds could have helped refugees in need.
A spokesperson for the Melbourne counterpart Anglican Archbishop ruled out entirely any plans for a donation to the Coalition For Marriage and elsewhere the Anglican Dean of Brisbane has told Buzzfeed believed “there are so many other things that could have been spent on”:
Marriage equality is one of the issues that within the church is very divisive, but there are other issues that the church has a very unified approach to, such as the care of refugees, advocacy about homelessness.
It’s regrettable that it was spent on something that’s divisive rather than something the church has a unified view on.
The biggest lashing however came from Reverend Keith Mascord, whose licence to preach was admittedly cancelled by the Diocese last year over his pro-same-sex marriage stance:
It is an appalling and immoral use of money. They bristle at being called homophobic, but they’re exerting all this effort to stop these people from enjoying the wonderful fruits of marriage. They have chosen to put money towards an immorally run campaign.
It’s getting harder and harder to take the constant whining from the ‘No’ side that they are being silenced, or are the “silent majority” considering this and the fact they have had five times as much media presence than the ‘Yes’ side and continue to embarrassingly sky-write over our cities.
There’s officially a month until the very, very last day for the ABS to receive surveys.
