Sydney Anglican leaders are encouraging Anglican school principals to uphold policies in line with the Church’s position on same-sex relationships.

Archbishop Peter Jensen outlined his views in an extensive interview with Richard Glover on ABC 702 and on the Macquarie network.

The temperature around same-sex relationships in high schools is rising after the Church of England Grammar School (‘Churchie’) in Brisbane decided to stop a group of homosexual Year 12 students from bringing their boyfriends to the school’s June formal.

In a recent development, an anonymous email was sent to all 215 Year 12 students at the school encouraging them to lodge a formal complaint with the Anti-discrimination Commission.

Media pressure is also forcing other Anglican schools to clarify their policy on same-sex couples at school social events.

Individual Anglican schools are free to make their own decision on policies related to school functions.

Archbishop Jensen backs school

Archbishop Jensen says he supports civil rights for same-sex couples but internal church policies have to be in line with the Bible’s teaching that homosexual behaviour is a sin.

“People do send their children to our schools - they send them there on the understanding that we understand from the teaching of the Bible that the expression of same-sex attraction ... is morally wrong,” Dr Jensen told Macquarie radio.

However, he does not want local school formals to be dragged into a bunfight. 

“No one wants to turn a fun event into a battleground for sexual politics,” Dr Jensen said.

“And I would completely denounce any violence against gay persons - it is morally wrong and reprehensible.”

Likewise, Laurie Scandrett, chief executive of the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation (SASC), supported the decision by the Brisbane school.

He said there is no “edict” among SASC schools preventing gay students from taking same-sex partners to school functions, but it “would not be encouraged.”

“The Bible is very strong that marriage is between a man and a woman and homosexual relationships are not permissible in a sense, not encouraged, they are spoken very strongly against,” Dr Scandrett told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Primate supports school and students

The comments came after the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, expressed both support for the gay students and the principal of the school.

Dr Aspinall, who is also president of the school council, said he has no “personal objection” if a school allows same-sex couples at their dance, and that he respects each school’s right to make the decision.

“But I understand in this particular instance the school has decided that its approach is to emphasise the interaction of young men and young women and providing them with an opportunity to do that in this kind of formal setting,” Dr Aspinall told The Courier Mail.

“And I have no objection to that either. I think that’s a reasonable and legitimate approach.”