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Jeffrey John withdraws acceptance of bishopric in Church of England
After weeks of debate over whether he should be made the Church of England's Bishop of Reading, Jeffrey John yesterday withdrew his acceptance of the post.

The canon theologian at London's Southwark Cathedral, John says he has been in a homosexual relationship for 27 years, but that the relationship became celibate when the Church of England reiterated its teachings on sexuality in 1997.

Still, his vow to work toward changing the church's sexuality doctrines to include committed homosexual relationships raised hackles from conservative Anglicans both inside and outside the U.K. Several Anglican churches, including the Church of Nigeria (the largest Anglican community in the world) threatened to break off their relationship with the Church of England if John was confirmed as bishop.

"It has become clear to me … the damage my consecration might cause to the unity of the Church, including the Anglican Communion," John said in his letter to Bishop of Oxford Richard Harries, who nominated him for the position.

"I much respect your decision, made in the interest of wider Church unity," Harries replied. "However, I would like you to know that not only did you have my unswerving support, but also that of a great many others in the diocese."

"The announcement must give us all pause for thought," said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion worldwide.

We have to grasp that Canon John's appointment has brought to light a good deal of unhappiness among people who could by no means be described as extremists, many of whom have willingly testified to their personal respect for Canon John. … Such unhappiness means that there is an obvious problem in the consecration of a bishop whose ministry will not be readily received by a significant proportion of Christians in England and elsewhere. … The estrangement of churches in developing countries from their cherished ties with Britain is in no-one's interests. It would impoverish us as a Church in every way. …

Two weeks ago, I warned against interpreting the appointment as an illegitimate attempt to 'short-circuit' the Church's continuing obedient engagement with that teaching. I must be equally clear now. Canon John's withdrawal should not be taken to mean that the Church can now stop being concerned about how it discerns the will of God in this area of ethics. …

Let me add that some of the opposition expressed to Canon John's appointment has been very unsavory indeed. A number of the letters I received displayed a shocking level of ignorance and hatred towards homosexual people. Our official policies and resolutions as Anglicans commit us to listening to the experience of homosexuals and recognising that they are full and welcome members of the Church, loved by God. Not everyone, it seems, takes equally seriously this element in the teaching of the Anglican Church. …

The British press is outraged by what it sees as a "forced" resignation.

"It emerged last night that he had bowed to pressure from key members of the [Archbishop of Canterbury's] staff at the end of an extraordinary six-hour meeting at the palace on Saturday," the Guardian reports.

"The meeting, which began at 8 a.m., lasted so long because he refused to sign the first draft of his letter of withdrawal, and it took time to negotiate an acceptable form of wording," says The Times. The paper says the pressure was mainly financial: "Church leaders' fears about the appointment had grown when it became clear that threats from wealthy evangelical parishes to divert funds away from the diocese were real. Had parishes in other dioceses followed suit, the Church's financial problems would have become crippling."

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July (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47