The Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John, has accused the Bishops of the Church in Wales of \u201canti-gay discrimination\u201d, after he was informed that his name will not be taken forward as a candidate for the See of Llandaff.<\/p>\n
The president of the College of Bishops, the Bishop of Swansea & Brecon, the Rt Revd John Davies, wrote on Friday to Dr John to assure him that \u201cneither homosexuality nor participation in a civil partnership were a bar to any candidate being either nominated or elected\u201d. In his reply to the Bishop, made public this weekend, Dr John rejected this assurance as \u201chypocritical and untrue\u201d.<\/p>\n
The appointment of the next Bishop of Llandaff fell to the Bench of Bishops \u2014 comprising the six diocesan Bishops \u2014 after a meeting of the Electoral College in February ended with no candidate receiving enough votes \u2014 two-thirds \u2014 to be declared Bishop-Elect. In addition to the diocesan Bishops, the College comprises six members elected by each diocese (three lay members and three clergy), and twelve members elected by the diocese to which the Bishop is being elected. Its proceedings are confidential.<\/p>\n