Apparently only two out of 26 Lordly bishops were present as the upper house voted yesterday to allow same-sex civil partnerships in churches.

The Church Times carries a cartoon wondering where all the other bishops had got to.

The Bishop of Winchester feels the need to explain that he wasn’t there because of “ubreakable prior commitments” (poker night?). Nonetheless, he’s really annoyed that allowing right-minded congregations to bless same-sex unions will “further fudge the line between civil partnerships and marriage. That is shown by some newspapers which simply speak of gay marriages in church.”

The British Humanist Association campaigns on marriage law and to remove the bishops from the House of Lords.