Episcopalians approve gay bishop
author: Your liberal friend
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- The House of Bishops voted Tuesday evening to confirm the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church's history.
Robinson needed a simple majority of the 107 votes to be confirmed. He received 62.
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This is a great news for us all guays. Don't you thinks so my liberal friends ?
;-)
Episcopalians approve gay bishop
Opposition vows to seek intervention from Anglican leaders
Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Posted: 4:30 AM EDT (0830 GMT)
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- The House of Bishops voted Tuesday evening to confirm the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church's history.
Robinson needed a simple majority of the 107 votes to be confirmed. He received 62.
"It's not so much a dream as a calling from God," Robinson said after the vote. "I'm really thrilled to be on my way to being the bishop of New Hampshire.
"That is going to be a reason for great rejoicing, back in New Hampshire this night and the nights to come. It will certainly be something I will rejoice over -- to be able to serve these people as God has called me to do and now they have called me to do."
Church spokesman Daniel England called Robinson's approval "an important step for the church."
"Some will be elated at this news, others very disappointed. And yet the decorum and the civility throughout leads me to believe that things will hold together," England said.
In comments after the vote, Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, spoke for those opposed to Robinson's approval, saying they were "filled with sorrow" and feel a "grief too deep for words."
"This body has denied the plain teaching of Scripture and the moral consensus of the church throughout the ages," Duncan said. "This body has divided itself from millions of Anglican Christians throughout the world."
Duncan said the bishops in opposition will be calling upon Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and upon the primates of the Worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church of the USA is a part, to intervene in the decision.
Although the national Anglican churches are independent, the archbishop of Canterbury is accorded special honor as head of the original Anglican body, the Church of England.
"May God have mercy on his church," Duncan concluded.
In a statement issued after Robinson's approval, Williams called for calm.
"It is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response," he said, according to The Associated Press.
Opponents of Robinson's appointment warned that the appointment of an openly gay man could split the 2.3-million-member U.S. church and distance it from the Worldwide Anglican Communion, which numbers 73 million members.
"This forever changes this church's teaching," said the Rev. Kendall Harmon, who represents the conservative American Anglican Council. He said he feels "devastated" by the outcome.
The Rev. Susan Russell of the gay Episcopal group Claiming the Blessing said she believes the church is strong enough to survive the debate.
"Yes, there's a lot of fear, but I happen to believe the love of God can overcome that," Russell told CNN. "What we really need to do is hang together as we have in this convention through this difficult time, and find a way through this."
The diocese of New Hampshire elected Robinson as bishop in June, but his election had to be confirmed at the Episcopal Church's General Convention.
Robinson won the vote by the House of Deputies, made up of more than 800 priests and lay leaders, on Sunday.
Tuesday's final vote follows weeks of heated debate, several days of a contentious conference and a one-day investigation that cleared Robinson of wrongdoing related to two 11th-hour allegations. (More on allegations)
David Lewis of Vermont accused Robinson of touching him inappropriately at a convocation and an activist opposed to Robinson's candidacy told bishops an organization Robinson was connected to offered a link on its Web site that could lead to erotica.
Investigators questioned Lewis and determined Robinson touched his arm and back momentarily during conversation in a public room with more than 300 people present.
On the second allegation, involving a Web site brought to bishops' attention by a member of the American Anglican Council, which opposes Robinson's ratification, Bishop Gordon Scruton, who oversaw the investigation, said Robinson helped found a chapter of the organization Outright in 1995, and ended his involvement with the group in 1998.
In 2002, the group established a Web site that linked to another site, which in turn linked to a site that included what Scruton called "graphic sexual materials."
Robinson "was not aware that the organization has a Web site until this convention," Scruton said, noting that Outright's response to investigators "emphasized to me" that Robinson had no part in the creation of the Web site.
Outright was founded to provide support and counseling for young people concerned about their sexuality, Scruton said.
The Episcopalian annual General Convention being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is scheduled to end Friday.
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homepage: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/05/bishop/
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