THE Archbishop of York said today he was "dismayed" that comments he made about another clergyman's homosexual relationship had been made public.

Dr David Hope said a conversation between himself and Dr Jeffrey John, the recently- appointed Bishop of Reading, were taken out of context, and the conversation, which took place more than 30 years ago, should have remained private.

A national newspaper reported on Saturday that Dr Hope had congratulated Dr John on becoming involved in a homosexual relationship.

According to the report, the conversation took place when Dr Hope was head of St Stephen's College in Oxford in the 1970s and Dr John was a student.

It was reported that Dr Hope told the young student the affair would make him a better human being and a better priest.

But Dr Hope said the conversation was a private pastoral conversation which had been taken out of context.

Rob Marshall, Dr Hope's spokesman, said: " The Archbishop was dismayed that a private pastoral conversation held almost 30 years ago in a very different context to the one he remembers has been made public some three decades on.

"He has had thousands of pastoral conversations with a wide range of people, and the first and most basic point is they remain private.

"Dr Hope remembers Jeffrey John as a student, and while he will not comment on the content of the conversation the context in which it took place is extremely different to the one we find ourselves today."

The appointment of Dr John, an advocate of gay rights, to the post of Bishop of Reading has caused controversy.

But it has been reported that the Right Rev Richard Harris, Bishop of Oxford, who nominated Dr John, said he had the right gifts for the job and had received approval from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.

Updated: 10:58 Monday, June 09, 2003