Our letter to the Church Times was published on Friday 10th October 2025. View the Archived Version.
Madam,
On behalf of LGB Christians, we wish to congratulate the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally on her appointment as Archbishop-elect of Canterbury. We pray for her as she prepares to assume this demanding office and to shepherd a Church seeking both unity and truth.
We hope that, under her leadership, the Church will engage more rigorously with the contested questions around gender-identity ideology. There are pressing safeguarding concerns in churches and schools, where “social transition” of children who express gender confusion has been shown to make it significantly less likely that they will desist during puberty, with lifelong consequences.
There is also growing evidence that some young people encouraged towards transition may in fact be gay, lesbian or bisexual, raising the risk that they are diverted from discovering their sexual orientation.
At the same time, proposed “conversion-therapy” legislation, if drafted too broadly, may inhibit doctors, psychotherapists, and pastoral workers from exercising responsible judgement or even from gently exploring whether a child’s stated trans identity is stable, or whether transition is truly in their best interests.
Finally, theologically, we must ask whether the idea of being “born in the wrong body” can be squared with Christian teaching about creation, incarnation, and the goodness of the body as God’s gift. These are not abstract debates, but questions of truth, justice, and compassion for vulnerable young people.
We thank and commend Bishop Mullally for leading the Living in Love and Faith process in General Synod with good grace and a commitment to progress. We trust that she will lead the Church of England in addressing the issues outlined above with clarity, courage, and a commitment to both safeguarding and the integrity of Christian doctrine.
MARK BRATTON
NIKKI BEKKER
MARK CHATER
SARAH RUTHERFORD
LORENZO FERNANDEZ-SMAL
SARAH MAPSTONE
TONY GREEN
LGB Christians
27 Old Gloucester Street
London WCIN 3AX