Very Rev. Jeffrey John A gay but celibate priest has been blocked from becoming a bishop by a Church of England, for the second time. The Dean of St Albans Very Rev. Jeffrey John was on a short-list to be the next bishop of Southwark in south London, but British media are reporting he has now been rejected as a potential nominee. John had previously been nominated to become bishop of Reading in 2003, but withdrew after outcry from conservatives. The Guardian reports that when news of his second candidacy was leaked, "the prospect of the first openly gay bishop in the Church of England immediately angered conservative evangelicals, who threatened to seek alternative leadership overseas and warned of a schism". John is a popular and respected cleric who is in a civil partnership with his long-term partner, but has declared he is celibate, conforming to Anglican teaching. Director of the group Changing Attitude, Rev. Colin Coward, has written on his blog that it's painfully disappointing news for John; "who has lived through a week in which his identity and reputation have been pored over, analyzed and attacked once again by conservative forces in the church in a way which I can only describe as poisonous." Changing Attitude is devoted to promoting full inclusion of GLBT people in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion. Reform, a conservative evangelical group, claimed the church could split if John were made bishop for the south London cathedral.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 9th July 2010 - 10:08am