The new Archbishop of Sydney has ignited a row because of anti-gay comments he made about the clergy.

Dr George Pell was asked whether there might be gay priests in Sydney while attending a cultural festival. According to a local paper, he replied: "Please God, no. I don`t want that sort of thing happening in Sydney.”

He acknowledged that there were gays in the priesthood: “There might be small pockets of it, and it`s certainly something we shouldn`t be encouraging."

Lesbian and gay activists had protested against Pell’s inauguration following previous comments he had made condemning homosexuality. He has refused to give communion to lesbians and gay men, and has compared them to "those robbing banks and whose moral life is disordered".

Pell has said that all sexual activity, whether gay or straight, is incompatible with the priesthood.

Gay activist Michael Kelly alleged in the Sydney Herald that Pell had worked among a group of gay priests known as the “Spice Girls” during his previous post in Melbourne. Pell has rejected this claim as a “most misleading and gratuitous slur”.

However, Mary Helen Woods, daughter of a prominent Australian Catholic leader, said: "They love their ceremonies and they love their incense and they love dressing up, and if they want to describe that inner circle as the Spice Girls, I can sort of see where the comment is coming from."