Bishops Criticize Ordination of Gays

Episcopal Church bishops, ending a divisive debate over the ordination of an openly homosexual priest last December, conceded this week that a solution on whether to drop priesthood barriers to gays and lesbians is “presently beyond our ken.”

Calling for discussions--yet admitting that “dialogue is not going to produce consensus”--the House of Bishops overwhelmingly passed a statement Thursday in Washington that they were divided over whether to listen more to the “anguished cries” of homosexuals who feel rejected by the church or to members who are hurt and angry because the Episcopal Church does not declare same-sex behavior as sinful.

“We are not of a single mind in our understanding of the demands of Holy Scripture, of faithful obedience to tradition, or informed awareness of the actual lives and choices faced by homosexual men and women,” said the bishops’ statement.

On Tuesday, the bishops had voted 78 to 74 to “disassociate” themselves from the ordination of an openly homosexual priest last December in New Jersey by outspoken liberal Bishop John Spong of Newark. They decided to “affirm and support” a disapproving statement by Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning, who said in February that it was “inappropriate” to ordain sexually active gay and lesbian priests, echoing a resolution passed in 1979 by the denomination’s General Convention.

Spong ordained the Rev. J. Robert Williams on Dec. 16, contending that the 1979 convention resolution was not binding and that the ceremony was “a step into honesty and integrity.” But after making public remarks that monogamy in marriage is not required for a faithful relationship, Williams was silenced by Spong and forced to resign from a gay and lesbian ministry in Hoboken, N.J.