Bishop post to go to gay cleric

Riazat Butt religious affairs correspondent
The Guardian
Tuesday September 2 2008

A gay cleric is in line to become the next Bishop of Bangor, replacing the Right Rev Tony Crockett, who died of cancer this year. Canon Jeffrey John, who entered into a civil partnership with his long-term partner, the Rev Grant Holmes, in 2006, is currently the dean of St Albans and is a Welsh speaker - making him an ideal candidate for the job.

Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said he would support the election of a gay bishop, despite opposition among conservative Anglicans.

At last month's Lambeth conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, asked liberals not to exacerbate tensions by consecrating gay clergy.

A conservative cleric, Bishop David Anderson, from the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, wrote that the Church in Wales was likely to ignore Williams' requests. "We have become aware through reliable sources that Dr Barry Morgan is a man of his word - he previously has said, 'I [Barry Morgan] would ordain Britain's first gay bishop'," he wrote. the rest

Ruth Gledhill: Gay priest Dr Jeffrey John could become a bishop in Wales-part 2