Bishop opts out of 'male friendship' service

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Right Reverend John Crowley had agreed to deliver the sermon at a service in London, honouring the friendship of two prominent male Catholics.

After reports that the service was in thanks for a 25-year partnership between the two men, Bishop Crowley opted not to celebrate the Mass.

But the bishop still attended the service and maintained he believed it was to mark a non-sexual friendship.

He said: "Any suggestion that we are taking part in a service which seeks to undermine or challenge the Church's clear teaching on marriage and human sexuality is totally without foundation. What we are celebrating together is friendship and commitment to justice - nothing more, nothing less.

"However, in view of the changed circumstances caused by the Press interest and the certainty that it will be interpreted in a totally misleading way, I decided not to be the celebrant at this Mass."

Bishop Crowley had known one of the men involved through his work with Cafod, the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, where he was Bishop Chairman from 1986 until last year.

A spokesman for the Middlesbrough Roman Catholic diocese said the bishop believed the relationship between the two men was non-sexual and that, if he had thought otherwise, he would not have accepted the invitation to the service, which took place last Saturday.

The controversy came as a leading Church of England theologian published a document setting out a rethink of the church's view of homosexuality.

Canon Edward Norman, treasurer of York Minster, said his catechism, commissioned by the Archbishop of York, was an attempt to define the church's teaching on a wide range of issues.

He said: "Homosexuality is not a lifestyle chosen by some people, it is something which is in-built and over which they have no control.

"Therefore, it has to be part of the divine scheme."