The Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu, 56, who was formerly Bishop of Birmingham, was confirmed in his appointment as Archbishop of York, the second most senior post in the hierarchy of the Church of England, in a ceremony laden with medieval formularies and legal jargon before his fellow bishops at the City of London church of St Mary-Le-Bow last night.

Article continues The new archbishop, who fled Uganda, where he had been a judge in the mid-1970s under persecution from the regime of Idi Amin, will now take his place as Primate of England and Metropolitan at the head of the Church of England's 14 dioceses between the Humber and the Scottish border. He is the 99th such archbishop in a line stretching back to Paulinus in AD625 and, when he is formally enthroned in York's great medieval minster next month, the gothic tracery can be expected to ring with the ecstatic sounds of singing and dancing from Africa.

At Lambeth Palace before yesterday's ceremony, he spoke of more modern concerns afflicting the Anglican communion, which is in danger of self-destructing worldwide because of divisions over the place of homosexuals in the clergy and, more parochially, whether women clergy, ordained in the Church of England for more than a decade, can one day proceed to appointment to the episcopacy.

He told the Guardian how much he disapproved of the language in which the church's gay debate is being conducted, particularly by some African archbishops who have spoken of homosexuals as a third sex threatening social unrest and have warned they will sever connections with the Church of England.

In particular, the Most Rev Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, claimed recently that "homosexuality and lesbianism, like divorce, breed a society of single parents which gives rise to a generation of bastards ... an ill-bred generation of hooligans portending much terror to the peace and stability of society".

His church has amended its constitution to remove mention of ties to the Church of England because of its bishops' decision this summer to allow gay clergy to register civil partnerships. Yong Ping Chung, the Archbishop of South East Asia, has talked of the Church of England being seduced by the lies of the devil and says he would not let the pulpits of his archdiocese be "defiled" by English clergy.

Dr Sentamu said: "Some of our disagreements are not Christian really ... It seems to suggest that all the great evils of the world are being perpetrated by gay and lesbian people, which I cannot believe to be the case. What is wrong in the world is that people are sinful and alienate themselves from God and you do not have to be gay to do that. To suggest that to be gay equals evil, I find that quite unbelievable.

"Is somebody saying a gay and lesbian can't live in Christ? What matters in the end to me is to do what my mother said to me as a little child: John, never point a finger at anybody because when you do three other fingers are pointing back at you. All of us are sinners, all of us have baggage. Why should my baggage as a heterosexual be more acceptable than the baggage of a gay person?"

The new archbishop said he would be prepared to consecrate women as bishops if the Church of England eventually permitted him to do so. "No, I don't see any obstacle to my doing it. I will do what the church feels is right. How can you not say, unless you just concentrate on the gender question, that women cannot be bishops? I cannot logically see that is sustainable."

He said of his new position: "The Church of England has to reconnect with England. There is such a wealth of tradition, the relationship between Christianity and social order, we are all part of the same society. I hope to spend more time befriending those who are sick, poor, lonely. The whole question of social integration, social justice, must go hand in hand with creating a fraternal society. If we are friends, the chances are that we will help and support one another. That is at the heart of the Christian faith."

Dr Sentamu, who was a member of the inquiry into the Stephen Lawrence murder, which accused the Metropolitan police of institutional racism, said he did not think the Church of England was institutionally racist but believed it had been slow to welcome black people. Contemplating his new office, Dr Sentamu added: "Here is a man who when he was born had to be baptised at night because people did not think he would live until morning, four pounds in weight, wasn't quite well, born in a little village, one of 13 children ... now finding myself here. From Uganda with love. I think it's one of those things, I can't believe it, is it real, is it true, are they talking about me?"

The CV

Most Reverend Dr John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu

Born June 10 1949, Kampala, Uganda

Family Son of the Rev John Walakira and Ruth Walakira - the sixth of 13 children

Education Old Kampala secondary school, Makerere University, Kampala, Selwyn College, Cambridge

Career highlights Barrister (1971-74). Ordained in 1979. Honorary canon of Southwark Cathedral (1993-96); Bishop of Stepney (1996-2002); Bishop of Birmingham (2002-05). Adviser to Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry (1997-99); chaired Damilola Taylor murder review (2002-03)

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