Sandi Toksvig: I can't let the Church of England hurt LGBT people

Sandi Toksvig says she was reluctant to speak out about the Church of England's position on same-sex marriage - but felt LGBT people were suffering.

Speaking to BBC News, the TV host said: "I can't sit by and let that happen."

The Church's synod is meeting to vote on the bishops' proposals to adopt blessing prayers for same-sex couples.

Toksvig has criticised the Church's position - and says a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, last month was "very disappointing".

The broadcaster hit the headlines for her opposition to the Church of England's stance on same-sex marriage late last summer.

She wrote an open letter to the Archbishop after he, and the Anglican Communion, reaffirmed a 1998 resolution, which said same-sex marriage was wrong.

Following a five-year consultation process, bishops have also now decided that there will be no change in the doctrine surrounding "holy matrimony" being solely between a man and a woman.

'I never wanted this'

In an interview with BBC News, Toksvig said: "I really never wanted this. There are lots of other things I'd rather be talking about."

She added: "Trust me, being gay is just a normal life. And we want to be allowed to get on with it. But every time somebody condemns you, somebody somewhere in the LGBTQ+ community gets hurt. And I cannot sit by and let that happen."

On Wednesday at the meeting of the Church's national assembly, the General Synod, members will vote on a proposal from bishops that - if they want to - clergy will in future be able to adopt blessing prayers for couples in same-sex civil marriages.

This proposal has been unpalatable to some conservatives in the Church, but also falls well short of what many progressives had wanted.

For his part, the Archbishop of Canterbury has celebrated what he sees as a move forward. He has also talked about the difficulty of holding together a Church with people with a wide range of beliefs on gay marriage.

He has just returned from South Sudan and said he is not just trying to keep together the Church of England, but also the global community of those who follow the Anglican tradition - to which millions belong.

Some conservative bishops abroad have already pulled their churches out of the Anglican Communion because the Church of England allows gay clergy and others threaten to leave if there are moves towards marriage equality.

"What we are doing is seeking to have a Church that accepts every person is equal, called by Christ to be loved and accepted and valued," he told the BBC.

"We are seeking not to match one exclusion with another, in not saying to the conservatives 'we don't like you, so you've got to go away.'"

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he was trying to hold the two sides of the debate together and have "a church that accepts every person is equal".

However, Toksvig told the BBC: "Here's the thing about 'equality', it is not a word that you qualify, you either have it or you don't have it."

The comedian is not a member of the Church of England. But she says she spoke out because she felt the impact of the message being sent out by the bishops was having an impact far beyond the Church.

And while she says she appreciates the fact the debate in the Church is extremely polarised, she said it was not enough to try to keep the two sides together.

"The problem is there is only one side that is impinging on the lives of others. And I'm afraid the very conservative people who interpret the Bible with less love than I would hope are causing severe mental health problems for the LGBTQ+ community."

She added: "My wife works in mental health with the queer community and the figures are shocking for a young LGBT person committing suicide, or attempting suicide, not because they feel bad about who they are, but because of the way society stigmatises them. So it's not an equal battle that we're having here."

"Is it okay to hold a Church together by sacrificing LGBTQ+ people on the altar of what they (conservative bishops abroad) believe? Is that okay?"

Toksvig has started a campaign to remove the 26 Church of England bishops who sit in the House of Lords.

However, she has attracted criticism in drawing comparisons between the UK parliament and that of the only other country where religious leaders automatically get seats in parliament, Iran.

Additional reporting by Harry Farley.