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Archbishop: "We are not a political party - we do not chuck out people we disagree with"
Some gay couples have loving, stable and monogamous relationships of "stunning" quality, the Archbishop of Canterbury has acknowledged.
The Most Rev Justin Welby told the BBC he had "particular friends where I recognise that and am deeply challenged by it".
But he said he still supported the Church of England's formal opposition to active homosexuality.
He spoke ahead of his enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral later.
End Quote The Archbishop of CanterburyIt's about loving people as they are and where they are"
The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron will be among the 2,000 expected guests.
Archbishop Welby - the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the Anglican communion - said: "You see gay relationships that are just stunning in the quality of the relationship."
While he did not doubt the Church's policy on same-sex relationships, he was "challenged as to how we respond to it", he added.
"The Church of England holds very firmly, and continues to hold to the view, that marriage is a lifelong union of one man to one woman," he said.
"At the same time, at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human, is the essential dignity of the human being. And so we have to be very clear about homophobia."
Asked if the Church would turn a blind eye to some gay relationships, he said: "It's not a blind eye - it's about loving people as they are and where they are.
"You'll find that in every church and you'll find that because it imitates the character and the practice of Jesus himself."
Meanwhile, the Times has reported that the archbishop has offered to meet the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell after he criticised him in an open letter.
It says Archbishop Welby sent an email in which he thanked him for his "very thoughful" letter, saying he would like to discuss it "without the mediation of the press".
Numbers decliningLast month, the archbishop said he stood by the Church of England's opposition to the introduction of gay marriage.
He spoke before the Commons approved same-sex marriage in England and Wales by voting for the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, by a majority of 225.
The government believes the wording of the bill will ensure the Church of England and the Church in Wales will not face any legal challenges to their opposition to holding same-sex marriages in their buildings.
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How the new Archbishop will be enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral
All religious organisations will be able to opt in to holding ceremonies, but the Church of England and the Church in Wales would first need to agree to change canon law.
Archbishop Welby, 57, is married with five children. He went to school at Eton, and later Cambridge University.
He rose to the top of the oil industry - ending up as treasurer of Enterprise Oil - and gave up a six-figure salary to train as a priest.
He was a vicar in Warwickshire, a canon of Coventry Cathedral, and the Dean of Liverpool, before being appointed as Bishop of Durham in November 2011.
The BBC's religious affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, says the new archbishop is inheriting a Church which has seen congregation numbers decline dramatically in recent decades, and which is struggling to promote a Christian message to an increasingly sceptical and secular society.
It will be seen as his job to unite a Church deeply riven by disputes about women bishops, and, more dangerously, sexuality, our correspondent adds.
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