A retired vicar with the Church of England has “wed” a young Romanian model 54 years his junior, and now wants the Church to get with the times in regard to same-sex relationships.
Philip Clements, 78, tied the knot to Florin Marin, 24, last month at the registry office in Ramsgate after meeting on a dating website two years ago.
“I’ve been a long time looking for you, Florin. And then I found you. Where have you been the last 78 years? Mostly non-existent,” he said.
Marin has defended the relationship and the 54-year age gap, stating that he prefers the elderly.
“All my friends know that my type is old people because they have more experience in life,” he said. “From the young people I have dated in the past, I have learned nothing.”
Clements, who served as the vicar of Kent for 50 years, says that he wants the Church of England to change its ways and become accepting of the feelings of homosexuals.
“As a priest, I want the Church to think seriously about this issue and to change its teaching and rules to allow clergy as well as lay members of the Church to marry someone of the same gender if that is how they feel,” he told Kent Live.
Clements said that he thinks Church officials mean well, but “they do not understand this aspect of human nature.”
Reg Scarborough of Delfside expressed dismay over Clements’ remarks in a recent letter to the editor of the East Kent Mercury, comparing Clements to Judas, who sat under Christ’s tutelage for three years, but missed the mark in understanding the truths Jesus was seeking to convey.
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