A gay clergyman who declined a bishop’s post after an outcry from Anglican conservatives has been appointed dean of a Church of England cathedral, the British government said on Monday.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office said Queen Elizabeth II had approved Canon Jeffrey John as Dean of St Albans cathedral, north-west of London.
The appointment was welcomed by figures on both sides of the controversy over John’s thwarted nomination to a bishopric last year.
John, a gay but celibate clergyman, had been appointed bishop of Reading, but withdrew in July after protests about his sexual orientation — even though his declared celibacy conformed to the church’s teaching.
John’s nomination triggered protests from conservatives within the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion — a controversy soon overshadowed by the confirmation of Reverend V Gene Robinson, who has a male partner, as bishop of New Hampshire in the United States.
The Right Reverend Richard Inwood, suffragan bishop of Bedford in St Albans diocese, had signed an open letter opposing John’s nomination as bishop. But on Thursday, he welcomed John’s commitment to mission and his reputation as a gifted preacher and teacher.
“Jeffrey John has made certain undertakings to the diocesan bishop on the [Church of England] bishops’ statement Issues in Human Sexuality. This assures me that none of the issues that caused concern last summer to so many people, including myself, will arise,” Inwood said.
The bishop of St Albans, the Right Reverend Christopher Herbert, said John “has a well-deserved reputation for being a good, caring pastor”.
“He is an intelligent, courageous priest who will follow a long line of superb deans of St Albans and will bring to the abbey a wide range of gifts. He is a man of prayer, a preacher and teacher of real authority and grace.”
Following the controversy over John’s nomination as bishop, Herbert had written to clergy and lay ministers in the diocese calling for them to “repent, and renounce, all forms of bullying”.
“In the guise of a desire to speak the truth, the exercise of power by many on all sides of this debate has not been edifying or helpful,” Herbert wrote at the time. — Sapa-AP
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