Some people have left the church because I am a gay woman, says Archbishop

Some people have left the church because I am a gay woman, says Archbishop The Archbishop of Wales has said that some parishioners have chosen to leave the Church in Wales in protest over her sexuality and gender. The Archbishop of Wales Cherry Vann says she has received backlash since her appointment but wants "unity" in the church The Most Reverend Cherry Vann, who is also Bishop of Monmouth, became both the UK's first female Archbishop as well as the first openly gay Archbishop in the world , in July. Speaking ahead of delivering her first Christmas message as Archbishop, she said she had been hurt by attacks over her sexuality, but added those with different opinions should not be forbidden from expressing their views. It follows the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Gafcon) describing her appointment as "another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy ". Speaking to BBC Wales, the Archbishop said: "There are still patches all over the place where people continue to struggle with women in leadership and I have to respect that. "The Church in Wales is working hard to welcome LGBT+ people, but also I respect that there are people in the Church in Wales who find that really difficult. "Some, sadly, have felt the need to leave and I take that very seriously". Archbishop Vann was elected by her fellow bishops with a two-thirds majority, following the retirement of her predecessor, Andrew John, in the summer. He retired after issues with safeguarding, excessive drinking and church members overstepping sexual boundaries came to light at Bangor Cathedral. Archbishop Vann said the vast majority of people had been supportive about her election, but added others had been "quite hostile". "It can be very hurtful", she said. "It's hard to hear some of the things that people say, but I think it's important that there is the space for them to say that. "I don't want people to feel shut down or silenced just because I hold a different view. "But it does nevertheless hurt because it feels like an attack on who I am and who God has made me to be. "We have to find a way as a Church to respect one another's views and find a commonality in our faith in Christ, despite our differences". Archbishop Vann said that despite the widespread interest in her election because of her sex and gender, they were not the most important things to her. "Other people find it fascinating", she said. "I had a lot of people contact me rejoicing at my election and saying how much hope and strength they get from the fact that there is now a woman in the role - and a civilly partnered woman at that. "I've had the opposite as well. That's just life". In her Christmas message, the Archbishop said she had chosen a passage from the Gospel of John about finding light in the darkness, a popular choice at carol services. "It's really about how...

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