CHURCH leaders called on followers yesterday to work at healing rifts within the Christian faith caused by intolerance towards homosexuality.

The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, cautioned that the Anglican Church must strive harder for unity on the issue of gay clergy to avoid the bitter disagreements that have pushed the Church close to schism in recent months.

In his Christmas sermon at York Minster, Dr Hope urged church members to learn to live “together and in difference”. He said that the Church risked losing sight of its world priorities by an obsession with the issue of human sexuality.

“Many quite outside and beyond the Church have looked on in disbelief wondering quite what all the fuss is about and asking whether, in so focusing on this one issue almost to the exclusion of all others, we have not lost sight of more pressing and vital priorities for our world and its peoples,” he said.

“A more fundamental question emerges, too, about our ability to live together with and in difference and the extent to which that is possible, given such passionately-felt views on this.”

The Anglican Church appeared to be on the brink of splitting this year in a global dispute over homosexuals in the clergy. The debate reached boiling point with the consecration as a bishop of Canon Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, in the United States.

While the theme was noticeably absent from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon, which also focused on tolerance as well as multifaith unity, it made a prominent appearance in the address by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

The Right Rev Professor Iain Torrance, in his Christmas sermon at St Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen, accused the Church of reinforcing homophobia. He said that the Church needed to shake off its hatred towards gays which had become a “consuming obsession”.

The Moderator sparked controversy this year when he stated in a newspaper article that he was unconcerned about the ordination of homosexual ministers. In his sermon, Professor Torraance said that there had been a 200 per cent increase in the annual number of cases of syphilis among those having gay sex, but sufferers were still too afraid to seek help.

“That fear in turn testifies to a persistent homophobia in society at large,” he said. “It is almost 2004, but gay young people in Scotland are four times more likely than others to report a serious suicide attempt.

“These are spiritual matters because hatred may only be cured by a change of heart. Actually, we all require a change of heart, because the Church not least has contributed to the prevailing homophobic mindset.”

Other issues broached by church leaders in their addresses included the war in Iraq, the fight against terrorism and other military tensions around the globe. Dr Hope said that the world was still stalked by the “darkness of war and terrorism” and the conflict in Iraq had led to “more casualties in peace than in the war”.

He also highlighted the tensions in Iraq, the Middle East and Northern Ireland as flashpoints where success had frequently been overcome by disappointment and frustration.

“The image of light shining in the darkness is surely very apposite for our times,” Dr Hope said.

He added that the plight for many living in rural England was “increasingly dire”. They felt threatened “by a government which they say simply fails to understand the country way of life”. The peace and joy which came through faith brought unique light in the midst of such uncertainty, he said.

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