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OXFORD, June 24, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The blame for causing yet another rupture in the Anglican Church, with the planned October 9 “consecration” of cohabiting homosexual Canon Jeffrey John as suffragan bishop of Reading, is being laid at the doorstep of the Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries.  Harries has now explicitly called for a “gay and lesbian friendly” Church. He called Jeffreys an important “symbol” and said, “Of course I realized there would be some controversy, but it became for me a matter of integrity he should be appointed even though I knew his views are unacceptable for some.”  The news was met with orthodox Christian condemnation from the head of Nigeria’s massive Anglican community, Archbishop Peter Akinola, who called it a “satanic attack on the Church of God.” One Nigerian woman said, “It’s an abomination. How can two men marry? It is against the Bible and it is against religion. They should not have appointed him at all.” Said another parishioner: “These white people, they are very different. They are very funny. They have their own reasons for doing these things which are not African at all. We should not copy them.”  For UK news coverage:  https://www.itv.com/news/411233.html   For more coverage from Nigeria:  https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3014188.stm