By Michael Williams, Vicar of Bolton Parish Church

IT seems more than likely that the new Archbishop of Canterbury will be Dr Rowan Williams, who is currently the Archbishop of Wales.

I do not agree with all his views, but I do think that he would be a good man for the job.

The present Archbishop, George Carey, has concentrated on making the structures of the Church of England more efficient and on keeping the Church world-wide together when there have been tensions over women priests and gay clergy.

The reason that I'm in favour of Rowan Williams is that he is a theologian who will bring great depth and insight to the job. The last Archbishop to have such deep learning was Michael Ramsey, who retired in 1974.

The reason that the Church and the country needs such deep insight at this time is that some very profound issues need to be thought through very carefully. The Church will have to make up its mind over gay marriage. This will have far reaching implications for our views of family life and the upbringing of children.

We will also have to decide on women bishops and what to do with those parishes that still will not accept women priests. And this raises the deeper gender and justice issues that face us as a society.

In the wider world, we need a leader who can help us to think through Christian relationships with other faiths. This is an absolutely crucial issue in this country and right across the world. Without a proper understanding between faith groups, there is potential for misunderstanding to lead to friction and even violence.

Many of us have opinions on these matters and other political concerns. Opinions are easy to come by, but what they often lack is depth. What we need is a leader who has enough learning, patience and insight to lead us as we think things through at a sufficiently deep level.

I am sure that Rowan Williams has such maturity and wisdom, and so I hope that he does become our next Archbishop.