Atlanta evangelical Pastor Louie Giglio has pulled out of his role in President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced just yesterday that he would give the benediction. But critics quickly singled him out for a sermon he preached against homosexuality in the mid-1990s.

In a statement announcing his withdrawal, Giglio said his prayer would "be dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration."

"Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past 15years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ," he said.

"Neither I, nor our team, feel it best serves the core message and goals we are seeking to accomplish to be in a fight on an issue not of our choosing," he said. *Read the entire statement here.

Giglio had been selected to pray at the inauguration because of the work he has done to raise awareness of human trafficking.