The NZ Herald has defended accusations of sensationalism over its "World Without Gays" Archbishop Vercoe piece at the weekend, saying the extremity of Vercoe's views warranted the front page. In today's editorial, the newspaper says the backlash from readers is a “natural response”, but one which is a reflection of extraordinary “insecurity”. “We gave such prominence to the bishop's attitude because it is so far out of step with the mainstream today and it is surprising that one of the country's more liberal churches should appoint someone of such an outlook. It is the very eccentricity of his views that make them remarkable. Were his attitude commonplace, as it was a generation ago, it would not have warranted a headline. “But our critics seem to believe that by reporting his views in the way we did, we risk an eruption of prejudice that has been suppressed in recent times only by a form of informal but rigorous censorship. We think that is mistaken."