Secret TG Group Shakes Up Church
By Christopher Morgan
The Sunday Times - London
Contributed by Andee and Elizabeth Parker
London
May 31, 1998
THE Church of England is facing fresh
controversy over the revelation that two women
priests began their ministries as men and that
the number of transsexual and transvestite
clergy is growing.
Two other priests are having sex change
treatment, church sources have admitted. One
has been forced by his bishop to take
indefinite leave, but intends to seek a fresh
appointment after his operation, as a woman
priest.
Many of them meet regularly with a number of
lay Anglicans as part of a secret group called
Sibyls - from the Greek word for prophetess.
They hold private church services wearing
female clothes.
The disclosures come as George Carey,
Archbishop of Canterbury, tries to hold the
church together in the face of damaging
internal divisions over homosexuality and the
ordination of women.
The issue of transsexuality may surface during
the Lambeth conference in July, when Anglican
bishops from across the world discuss church
doctrine. The conference's steering committee
will receive a confidential paper on
transsexual clergy. It is believed to
highlight the number of clerics who have
changed gender or wish to, and calls for an
open church discussion.
At least 21 clergy in the Church of England
consider themselves to be "transgendered",
The Sunday Times has learnt. Fourteen are
transvestites. Three are considering a sex
change and are said by friends to be in a
psychological "grey area".
The church's decision to allow the ordination
of women priests in 1992 is thought to have
encouraged some priests to reveal their
inclinations.
Speaking for the first time, a vicar in a
large Church of England parish has described
conducting acts of worship for Sibyls. He also
told of his desire to dress and behave as a
woman while serving a large parish. "I have
taken services wearing women's clothes," he
said. "The women at Sibyls said I looked
absolutely gorgeous, which was lovely. Sibyls
is an accepting group of Christians creating a
completely relaxed context for worship. They
give me affection and support. We may see
trans-gender churches in the future."
He has undergone 200 hours of electrolysis on
his face and neck over five years. "I do
selected exercises to re-do my waistline," he
said. "I go away for several weeks of the
year, taking the role of a woman. My rule is
that I don't dress within 60 miles of the
parish. I have got good bone structure and I
have been chatted up, which I found quite
amusing."
The priest has been married for 25 years and
has children. But he has consulted two
psychiatrists, who confirmed that he had all
the traits of a transsexual. He believes his
bishop would try to remove him from the parish
if he knew. "I would be difficult to sack, but
there would be moral pressure on me to resign.
I would have a nervous breakdown or commit
suicide."
Though his wife knows about his secret
desires, his children do not. "At transvestite
clubs I talk to some of the people. The
secrecy is the thing that hurts most. I have
to sneak out and worry about being caught and
stopped by the police.
"There is, however, a real joy of being
yourself for a while. I try to grab time when
people are out to care for my wardrobe. At
other times I cry myself to sleep. Not being
the one you want to be and appear to be, you
are never at ease with yourself."
He said that a senior diocesan official knew
about his feelings.
|