Bishop John Neill, Church of Ireland archbishop-elect of Dublin, has strong views on inter-church Communion, women's ordination, gay priests and Drumcree. And he's not afraid to speak his mind, writes Patsy McGarry.

Bishop John Neill, Church of Ireland Archbishop-elect of Dublin, is a man of stature in every sense of the word. Over six foot tall, he has academic and pastoral credentials to match. Not that he would say so.

He is not a southern Church of Ireland clergyman of the old hue. He is not one of those pastel men of shaded opinion and innocuous expression who felt it necessary, frequently, to be deferential to people of Church and State least tolerant of their existence. Bishop Neill is of a more confident generation of his people. One which has, finally, taken its place among the minorities of this State.

He has strong views. On inter-church Communion for instance. In December 1997 he wrote in this newspaper praising the President, Mrs McAleese for receiving Communion in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral. "It seems almost bizarre that some Christians who have spent many years urging politicians to sit down and talk at one table should find themselves so embarrassed when brothers and sisters in Christ then assume that they themselves can eat at one table, the table of the Lord", he wrote then.

The obstacle to inter-church Communion he now describes as "not an old barrier but a new barrier". For him it is "a very big issue" and, while he understands the doctrinal differences between the churches on the matter, he believes it is "sometimes easy to reason our way out of what is becoming an increasingly natural response in the light of growing Christian understanding".

Agreeing that churches should respect each other's traditions, he also believes they "must be prepared to challenge one another . . . we do share a common Christian tradition and we must be prepared to challenge each other's interpretation of that tradition," he says. He feels particularly for the pain of inter-church couples who are being prevented from sharing Communion together. He wants to make things easier for them.

He is as forthright on Drumcree. There, he believes, "a church service is being used for political ends of a very narrow nature". There has been a great deal of progress there, he says, but, while understanding the resentment of some Church of Ireland clergy and laity in the North at what they perceive as southern "interference" on the issue, he feels they should also understand that Drumcree had "serious repercussions for the church in the South". And he is "very supportive of all Archbishop Eames is trying to do there".

He looks forward to a good relationship with his soon-to-be Catholic counterpart in Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell. He doesn't know him well, but has received an "extremely gracious" welcome from him, both publicly and personally. Over the years, in Tuam and Cashel dioceses particularly, he worked with many Catholic bishops, ranging from the progressive to the conservative. "Personal relations in almost all cases were excellent," he recalls. He has no doubt it would be similar in Dublin.

As regards the clerical child sex abuse in the Irish Catholic church, he says "no one can throw stones". He points to what is happening in the Anglican church in Canada and Australia where there were similar problems with clerical paedophilia. One of the positive things of such experience is that a church suffering greatly begins to speak from a position of humility - "which may mean it will be heard more", he says.

Where church issues in general are concerned, he is happy to be described as "progressive". (Though, when it comes to preaching he leans towards the evangelical tradition of his church while, when it comes to worship, he leans towards its High Church tradition. "Both are very important to me", he says).

He is happy with the ordination of women. It is not a position he always held, but during the 1980s he experienced a gradual sense of the rightness of there being women priests. This, despite the possible obstacle such ordination might present in developing ecumenical relations with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Nor, in his belief, has it set back ecumenism, or damaged the Anglican Communion.

In 1988, out of 500 bishops attending the Lambeth Conference representing the Anglican church worldwide, he was chosen to chair the group set up to draft a resolution on women bishops which would avoid a split in the church. His compromise resolution on the timing of the introduction of women bishops was carried overwhelmingly, sparking speculation that he might become an archbishop some day. At the Church of Ireland General Synod in 1989 it was he who set in motion the process that led to women priests in the church after 1991.

However, he would differ with the personal views of the archbishop-elect of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams on the ordination of gay men to the priesthood. Archbishop Williams approves. Bishop Neill, however, does not believe "the Anglican Communion at large could yet accept the ordination of practising homosexuals. Which is not to say it can't happen," he says.

He emphasises it is damaging to define people by sexual orientation. He has never asked the question of anyone. But there are difficulties with the issue in terms of church tradition. People are now open to more than one interpretation (of scripture) and accept modern reasoning and advances in the understanding of the gender make-up of human beings. They are more open to change, he feels. He says his own views on the issue have developed over the years. The Church of Ireland community in the Republic has become a more confident people, and they need to be even more so, he says. But he expresses "bewilderment" at the Church of Ireland being seen as "a spiritual home" where many liberal Catholics in the South are concerned.

His great concern for the future is that the Christian churches embrace progress. The church must encourage people in their search for meaning, their search for God, within the church in some way. The pattern of belonging is changing, as is weekly worship, he says. "Smaller groups are attracting many these days," he observes. The ways in which people relate, belong, and express the Gospel, are all changing, he adds. And the church must change too.

The Blake Morrison interview will now run on Friday