Archbishop of Canterbury 'consumed with horror' at the way the Church treats gay people

The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby, has admitted that he is "constantly consumed with horror" at how the Church has treated the gay community.

Welby was interviewed by Rev. Kate Bottley, television personality and more popularly known as the "vicar of Gogglebox." The emotional Q and A was conducted live before hundreds of attendees of the Greenbelt Christian Festival in Northamptonshire.

The archbishop said, "We have to find a way to love and embrace everyone who loves Jesus Christ."

He believed this included people from societies who feel strongly about same-sex relationships. He shared that he sometimes has been kept awake at night thinking about issues like the discrimination experienced by the gay community and their protection against abuse.

Welby was also asked when the Church would start blessing civil partnerships. He admitted that he did not know and did not have an acceptable answer. He added, "If we were the only Church here and [there were] no other Churches, and if division didn't matter it would be much easier to answer."

In a moment of candid honesty, Welby said that he "can't see the road ahead" for the Church in terms of civil partnership for same-sex couples. He added that the Church came from a traditional point of view and had varying opinions regarding the issue.

Bottley also asked him about his biggest frustration to which Welby replied with himself, saying that he became most upset with his own failures.

The archbishop also shared that he no longer checked his Twitter because "if [what people write about me] is nice you get a bit up yourself, and if it's nasty you get cross, and either way you have to repent."

In one of the highlights of the interview, the archbishop told the audience that the future of the Church was in the resurrection.

"The future of the Church in this land is amazing because God is God – he's not going to turn away. He will make sure that the name of Jesus is proclaimed in this land come what may," he said.