Michael Scott-Joynt
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Michael Charles Scott-Joynt (born 1943) is an English ecclesiastic and prelate of the Order of the Garter.[citation needed] He was appointed Bishop of Winchester, one of the five senior bishoprics in the Church of England, in 1995.[1] He had previously served as Bishop of Stafford in the Diocese of Lichfield from 1987 and before that as Canon Residentiary at St Albans.[2]
[edit] Opinions
He has attracted note for some of his more outspoken opinions. His Christmas Day sermon of 2001 was titled "This Terror Is a Judgment upon Us." In it, he called the events of 11 September, "cruelly evil as they were," a judgment upon the developed nations' promotion of their own standard of living at the expense of the global poor, and condemned the Middle East policies of the Western nations. He was also one of 52 UK bishops who signed a letter in 2003 calling for reform of arms export laws.
He chaired a Church of England committee in 2000, which urged a lifting of the ban on remarriage of divorcees whose former spouse was still living. The report insisted that the Church of England was not abandoning its position that marriage is for life, but rather acknowledging the situation of many within society whose former marriages had long ceased to have any real existence.[3] However, he insisted at the time that this would not necessarily open the way for Charles, Prince of Wales to marry Camilla Parker Bowles. (In the event, the wedding of Prince Charles and Mrs Parker Bowles took the form of a civil marriage which was immediately followed by a service of blessing in St George's Chapel, Windsor.)
In 2003, he was signatory to an open letter from 17 Church of England bishops opposing the nomination of Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest in a long-term relationship, as Suffragan Bishop-designate of Reading.
Scott-Joynt is one of the Church of England's most prominent opponents of gay rights, for example voting against the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations in the House of Lords because there was no provision for religious conscience. Scott-Joynt also argued that the introduction of civil partnership legislation in the UK threatened the uniqueness of marriage and declared he would closely question clergy in his Diocese who entered a civil partnership.[4]
| Church of England titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Stevens Waller |
Bishop of Stafford 1987 –1995 |
Succeeded by Christopher John Hill |
| Preceded by Colin Clement Walter James |
Bishop of Winchester 1995 – |
Succeeded by Current Incumbent |
[edit] References
- ^ London Gazette: no. 54166, page 9239, 20 July 1987. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 51000, page 12953, 25 September 1995 1987. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
- ^ [Bishop Michael's Speeches:Marriage in Church after Divorce, General Synod, 9 July 200?—The following is the introduction to a debate on MARRIAGE IN CHURCH AFTER DIVORCE (GS 1449), which took place in York on Tuesday 9th July]. Retrieved 2008-05-07
- ^ Bishop Michael's Speeches: The coming into effect of the Civil Partnerships Act 2 December 2005—A Statement by the Bishop of Winchester. Retrieved 2008-05-07
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