Archbishop pays tribute to gay priest

Dr Williams was accused of turning his back on the developing world

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for a period of reflection after gay priest Canon Jeffrey John withdrew his acceptance of the post as Bishop of Reading.

Dr Rowan Williams paid tribute to the "dignity and forbearance" Dr John had shown "often under the most intrusive and distasteful personal scrutiny".

But he acknowledged there would have been an "obvious problem with the consecration of a bishop whose ministry would not be readily received by a significant proportion of Christians in England and elsewhere."

Dr John's decision not to take up the post came after weeks of bitter argument within the Anglican Church about whether or not he should be allowed to hold the position, because of his sexuality.

And the row had been expected to dominate this week's meeting of the General Synod, the Church's parliament.

'Difficult days'

Dr Williams, who had not objected to Dr John's appointment, made it clear homosexuals "are full and welcome members of the Church".

"This has been a time of open and painful confrontation, in which some of our bonds of mutual trust have been severely strained.

Canon Jeffrey John says he is now celibate

"We need now to give ourselves the proper opportunities honestly to think through what has happened and to find what God has been teaching us in these difficult days," he said.

But he said some of the opposition had been "very unsavoury indeed" and showed the level of "foolish and hurtful prejudice in our society is still uncomfortably high".

He said a number of letters had displayed "a shocking level of ignorance and hatred towards homosexual people.

Dr John had been due to be consecrated in October.

He has been in a relationship with a man for 27 years, but says he is now celibate.

Opinion divided

His decision to withdraw his acceptance of the post announced on Sunday has provoked a mixed reception from within the Church.

Dr John said he was concerned about the "damage" his consecration might cause to the "unity of the Church".

Joel Edwards, of The Evangelical Alliance said this was "definitely in the interests of the church."

But gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell warned: "Having scored this victory, anti-gay evangelists are looking to step up their campaign against gay people in the church."

Dr John's announcement came after the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, said he ordained two bishops he "suspected" were gay in the 1990s.

However, Dr Carey said he had "never knowingly ordained a practising homosexual".