HAGGARD

DENVER (AP):

A leading evangelist who admitted to "sexual immorality" following allegations of sex with a male prostitute is convinced he is "completely heterosexual," said one of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counselling with the disgraced minister.

The Rev. Ted Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage, also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur told The Denver Post for a story yesterday edition.

"He is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. He was also forced out from the 14,000 New Life Church that he founded years ago in his basement after Jones alleged Haggard paid him for sex and sometimes used methamphetamine when they were together. Haggard, who is married, has publicly admitted to "sexual immorality."

The scandal disappointed Christian conservatives, whom President George W. Bush and other Republicans had counted on heavily in the run-up to the national legislative elections last November, which Democrats subsequently won.