The arrogance of left-wing activist clergy in the Church of England is unfortunately on full display in the row over ‘trans inclusive’ toilets at Sunderland Minster.
After The Telegraph broke the story on May 28, the Church Times reported the Provost (the incumbent) of Sunderland Minster, a prestigious church in Durham Diocese, defending her decision to display a sign inviting biological males who self-identify as female to use the church’s women’s toilets.
Canon Clare MacLaren argued that transgender people should be allowed to use the single-sex facility of their choice because they “have as much right to privacy, dignity, and safety as cisgender men and women”.
A picture of the sign, “All women are welcome to use these toilets”, was shared in a Facebook post, now deleted. The post described the sign as a response to the Supreme Court’s “narrow biological line on the definition of sex” in its ruling last year.
In the wake of the ruling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced an updated draft code of practice which says single-sex space facilities in public buildings must be used in line with biological sex. The Government last month put the EHRC draft code before Parliament for scrutiny with a decision on whether to approve it due later this month.
Effectively blaming objectors to the sign, MacLaren said that it has now been taken down “to safeguard our volunteers from the risk of abuse”. According to The Telegraph, the sign featured the pink, blue and white stripes of the trans flag, and the Facebook post said that if women were not comfortable using lavatories in the presence of trans women, they could ask for a clergy staff member or volunteer to accompany them.
The Church Times has reported the critical comments on the new EHRC code by the Bishop of Manchester, David Walker. Last year in the House of Lords he accused the EHRC of causing “widespread alarm” when it issued interim advice on the Supreme Court ruling. He was grateful the interim advice was withdrawn, “albeit belatedly”. He said the EHRC had “lost the confidence of many”.
Walker said this week: “Nobody, trans or otherwise, wants to be challenged when accessing a public lavatory, just because some other person chooses to suspect that their sex fails to match the sign on the door. No reasonable business, charity or organisation wants to exclude valued clients, customers or members from its activities or services. Sadly, many may fear that failing to exclude them will lead to lengthy legal battles against well-funded, possibly overseas funded, culture warriors.”
Walker argued that his stance is in line with the vote by the General Synod in 2017 in favour of liturgical materials marking a person’s gender transition. Walker said this decision “sought to include transgender people in their new - I would say God-given - gender identity”.
In an astonishing comment showing apparent disregard for the law, Walker added: “The challenge for churches is not, as I see it, about whether to obey the law or not. It’s about how we live out that Synod vote in the unconditional welcome transgender people receive.”
It now turns out that MacLaren, a speaker at the Sunderland Trans Rights Rally in June last year, failed to consult the governing body of Sunderland Minster, its Parochial Church Council (PCC) over the sign. US website Anglican Ink reported on June 3:
“The governing body of Sunderland Minster has repudiated its own Canon Provost, saying it would not have approved the transgender toilet sign that made national headlines last week and does not support it retrospectively.”
The PCC has issued a statement saying: “The governing body of Sunderland Minster (the PCC) met on Monday 1 June to discuss the recent post on our social media account challenging the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definition of sex. The post would not have been supported by the trustees if we had been consulted in advance, nor do we support it retrospectively. It is important that we at Sunderland Minster respect the rule of law.”
The story shows that left-wing activist clergy in the established Church are not only out of step with the Supreme Court ruling but also with their own volunteers. The Sunderland Minster PCC members certainly deserve credit for the stand they have taken against such high-handed clerical arrogance.
Julian Mann, a former Church of England vicar, is an evangelical journalist based in Lancashire.
