Married gay clergyman to sue the Church of England

Married gay clergyman Jeremy Pemberton is taking legal action against the Church of England.

Pemberton is taking the Acting Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Archbishop of York to an employment tribunal, after he was blocked from taking a new job as an NHS chaplain and bereavement manager.

Acting Bishop, the Right Reverend Richard Inwood, wrote to the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust explaining that he would not be giving Pemberton a new licence.

Pemberton became the first British clergyman to enter into a same-sex marriage when he wed long-term partner Laurence Cunnington in April – read more here.

According to BBC News, Pemberton said he was “deeply saddened” to take this step against church authorities.

“I feel I have been left with little choice, having found myself being punished and discriminated against simply for exercising my right to marry,” he said.

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