A new dawn for gay people in the Church of England?

From Reuters Tue Feb 28, 2012

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the global Anglican communion, stepped on Tuesday into a row which is flaring at the U.N. Human Rights Council over the persecution of gays and lesbians.

Williams, who has faced strong opposition from parts of his own church especially in Africa for his stance on gays, did not directly refer to the current controversy at the Council, according to the text of a speech prepared for delivery at the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC).

However, he said laws against sexual minorities were equivalent to racism, and warned that legal regulation of consensual sexual conduct "can be both unworkable and open to appalling abuse - intimidation and blackmail."

 Reuters is concerned with the developing stand-off in the UN with Pakistan, on behalf of the 57-nation Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), opposed to the convening of the panel and refusing to accept any recommendations that it might issue.

How will Rowan's comments play with his friends in the Vatican?

More domestically, does this mean we will now see the removal of formal and informal barriers to homosexuals' participation in the Church of England? Is it possible that gay people can be full members of the Church?

Or will we have a justification of the Archbishop of Canterbury's expression of one set of views in an international forum (which are believed to be his personal views) - while continuing to endorse, support and enact attitudes 'equivalent to racism' in the Church of which he is head?