appointment of dr. jeffrey john

an editorial in today's church of england np about the appointment of dr. jeffrey john as dean of st. albans bears a warning to both sides of the homosexuality debate in the anglican communion. here's an excerpt:

[T]he Church must be careful in the message that it sends out to both gay people and to its more traditionally minded members. To gay people the message is that they are, of course, welcome in the household of God. But centuries of teaching on morality cannot be easily discarded. Traditionalists are not therefore homophobic: they believe that the revelation of God is relevant for all people and it cannot be overturned either by politicians or by revisionist church leaders. The views of some may indeed by homophobic, but for most sensible thinking traditionalists it is a question of fidelity to the historic teaching of the faith, which is shared by all the Abrahamic religions. If there is to be a change in that teaching there will need to be rather more convincing arguments than we have heard hitherto.

But those traditionalists also have to be careful about how their views are perceived. In the current atmosphere there is little understanding of their perspective, and it is not one shared by any of the major political parties. Evading accusations of homophobia is an uphill challenge that will require the debate to be carried out in a measured and sympathetic way as this is an issue that is more than academic: it involves real people who can view our lack of grace as a reflection on the Good News of the Gospel.