Emails reveal Welsh Bishops’ anxieties over potential appointment of gay dean Jeffrey John
from Church Times:
HOSTILITY to the appointment of the Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John, to the see of Llandaff began with the Welsh Bench of Bishops before the electoral college met, it was revealed this week.
Despite the unanimity of the Llandaff diocesan representatives at the electoral college in March (News, 24 March), Dr John failed to gain enough votes overall, and was excluded from the slate when the Welsh bishops reconsidered shortly afterwards. The Dean of Salisbury, the Very Revd June Osborne, was appointed Bishop instead (News, 5 May).
In an exchange of letters after the electoral college with the senior Welsh bishop, the Bishop of Swansea & Brecon, the Rt Revd John Davies, Dr John accused the Bishops of blocking his appointment purely on the grounds of his homosexuality, in spite of his avowed celibacy. He wrote: “To ride roughshod over the very clearly expressed, unanimous view of a diocese in this way is extraordinary, unprecedented and foolish.”
Using the Freedom of Information Act, Dr John has now obtained partially redacted emails sent between the Welsh bishops in the run-up to the electoral college. An email dated 8 February, which appears to be from Bishop Davies, states: “My instinct is that JJ’s stance on the matter of same-gender relationships and his own situation might be unwelcome to many in the Diocese who would suspect that Barry’s [the former Bishop of Llandaff and Welsh Primate, Dr Barry Morgan] evident liberal agenda was being perpetuated by his election. It would probably do the perception of the Bench, at home and elsewhere, no particular good either.
“Personally, I also think that his election would be an immense distraction in the Province at the wrong time.”
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