"Arch-heretic of Canterbury" tries to calm critics on gay priests
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, yesterday attempted to soften the opposition he has faced from some hardline evangelicals over their perception of his stance on the issue of homosexuality within the church.
Some fundamentalists, perceiving him to be too tolerant of gays, have accused him of straying from strict biblical orthodoxy on the matter and were calling on him to step down even before he took up the job earlier this month. One group has accused him of being a false teacher and others are starting to refer to him as the "Arch-heretic of Canterbury".
On Radio 4's Desert Island Discs Dr Williams said that gay priests were not on his agenda as a campaigning issue: "It is certainly no part of my programme to change this, or even to push it as a matter of discussion, but there it is, on the table, and we have to think about it without too much rancour, too much prejudice or too...