Article (Stephen Bates): Two churches, one view and a question of conscience

The Church of England's move to join Catholic opposition to the government on the gay adoption row has as much to do with internal church politics as religious conviction.

In the view of Catholicism, gay people are "objectively disordered". The Church of England's view is that homosexuality is no longer a sin, but should not be indulged in, especially by the clergy. But the impetus behind the row is more political.

In the Catholics' case, the push for a hard line on the adoption issue has largely come from Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, who is responsible for child policy issues in the church. The archbishop wants to succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, leader of the church in England and Wales, who is due to resign on reaching the age of 75 this summer. Archbishop Nichols is also fresh from spearheading the church's campaign before Christmas which forced ministers to back down on their scheme to limit admissions on religious grounds to church schools. Read more