It has been announced that homosexual priests in the Church of England may officially be allowed to take part in civil unions under new proposals drawn up by senior bishops, which was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

The decision has drawn hugely controversy among the Church, which is already strained to breaking point over the issue. Gay and lesbian clergy who wish to register their relationships under the new ‘Civil Partnership’ legislation will therefore not be in danger of losing their priest licences.

The new rights will allow homosexual couples to enjoy tax benefits and inheritance advantages that are given to other traditionally married couples.

However, one condition has been set for the clergy to retain their licences – they must give assurances to their diocesan bishop that they will abstain from sexual relations. This condition seems to be an attempt by bishops to uphold the Church doctrine of forbidding clergy from sex unless they are in a full marriage. Therefore, even though the decision has angered many, the Church has made an effort to distinguish same-sex blessings and traditional marriages.

The Church has said that the new law leaves them little choice but to accept the rights of gay clergy to have "civil partners".

The homosexuality issue has divided the Anglican Communion greatly over the past year, and this new development is likely to inflame the situation even more.

In June an international meeting will take place between senior bishops, which aims to reconcile and heal the split that has appeared between liberals and conservatives regarding homosexuality in the Church.

The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will meet in Nottingham, UK on 21 June to try to heal the potential schism caused largely by the Episcopal Church in the USA’s (ECUSA) decision in 2003 to ordain the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

This move led to 22 separate Anglican provinces, many from Africa and Asia, to break away from their relationship with the American Church.

The new proposals are contained in the draft Pastoral Statement on Civil Partnerships, which was written up by the Bishop of Norwich, Graham James. The statement was agreed after lengthy deliberations at a meeting last week in Market Bosworth in Leicestershire. After some amendments are made a final draft will be given to the House of Bishops for approval, which is the upper house of the Church’s General Synod.

The proposals outline the procedure for gay priests to register a civil partnership. A meeting would take place in which the priest consults their bishop, and then the priest would have to give an undertaking to keep the teaching of the Church of England, which is given in a 1991 document called “Issues in Human Sexuality” – it prohibits sex for gay clergy.

Sanctions are not included in the new proposals at all, but it is expected that if a priest breaks the rules then it would lead to suspension or other such disciplinary measures.

Last week, Debbie Gaston, a lesbian minister from Brighton and her partner, expressed their intention publicly to register their civil partnership in December. Both women were originally part of the Baptist denomination but later became members of the Metropolitan Community Church, which consists largely of gay and transsexual members, reports The Times newspaper.

Although Dr Williams will not have wanted to enrage worldwide Anglicans even more, some, such as Peter Akinola, the Primate of Nigeria are likely to see the new proposals as outrageous. Akinola has spoken out strongly against the ECUSA and homosexuality as against Biblical teachings.

The Anglican Communion will now look desperately towards the ACC gathering in England next month, anxiously contemplating whether reconciliation can be found in a situation where liberals in the Church are moving in such a hugely different direction to conservative and evangelicals.