Protection for homosexuals needs to be "clearly stated" according to Anglican Bishop elect, Reverend Canon Dr Patrick White.

Canon White, 65, of St. Paul's Church in Paget, was voted into the highest post for the Anglican church on the Island, on Saturday morning with the decision cemented by votes from the House of Clergy and the House of Laity.

His nomination must now be approved by the Archbishop of Canterbury, before being consecrated as Anglican Bishop of Bermuda by at least three Bishops, which he hopes will be by the end of the year.

He will replace Bishop Ewen Ratteray who retired last year and was the first black and first Bermudian Bishop of the Anglican Church. Bishop Ratteray left the Island this year to move to the City of York in England.

Yesterday, Canon White spoke about his priorities for the Church and said he, like Archdeacon Andrew Doughty, who was the other candidate for the Bishop post, believe that gay and lesbian rights should be protected.

"I am with him (Archdeacon Doughty). It's something Bishop Ratteray also supported. Change in terms of protection to gays and lesbians we need to get that clearly stated," he said.

He added that it has been a long standing practice that gay and lesbian priests would be ordained in the Anglican Church, but that they remain celibate.

The issue of amending the Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation, has been a hot topic, that came under scrutiny when former Tourism Minister Renee Webb introduced a bill to have it included two years ago.

Both the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church abstained from a United By Faith gathering in 2006, which rallied calls not to change the Act for fear of "gay-bashing".

A problem that has also troubled the Anglican Church of Bermuda and which Canon White said was one of his top priorities is immigration.

During both the United Bermuda Party and the Progressive Labour Party governments, the appointment of Ministers from abroad has been a sticking point.

A Bermudian himself, Canon White said yesterday there needed to be continued work with immigration on behalf of the church, but also reiterated one of the problems with finding ministers — the parish also has to approve the choice.

The Anglican Bishop cannot force a parish to accept one minister or another and this often leads to problems with immigration as it did just a few years ago at his church, St. Paul's.

The church was ordered to find a status Bermudian to fill the spot and an expatriate vicar from another parish was warned of arrest if he conducted any services there.

Some help could come from training Bermudians on the Island in particular in the layman positions such as readers and deacons, said Canon White.

"We need to, as a church, make sure we iron out the wrinkles in the appointment of priests so that immigration feels they don't always have to call us on it," he said.

"We need to do the best job we can when a Bermudian priest doesn't get a job to be a good reason for it. Or on the positive side we are doing the best that they are suitable for a parish.

"The Anglican Church obeys the law of the land. We are always interested in providing jobs for Bermudians, qualified Bermudaians.

"They (Bermudian trained Deacons) can do weddings and parish visits, but don't require the same level of theological education that a priest does.

"We could more on-island for training laymen. It's expensive to go overseas. We (the church) are moving away from the idea that you have go to be a priest to do some things."

Canon White also reiterated his belief that women should be ordained as ministers and that could definitely be a way to attract the youth back to the Church.

Adding: "It's something we are certainly struggling with. It maybe as a church we have come across as being forward looking.

"Women's ordinations are a case in point. It's important to extend the ministry to women to have them ordained.

"That's a priority for me and I hope for other people in the church as well. It is a decision that we will work on together.

"The young people want to go where the action is. Certainly the whole business of living the life of faith in our era is really exciting and interesting and filled with challenges.

"It makes life worth living and that's why we do it."