Gay bishop vote risks schism

THE Anglican church's first openly gay bishop said yesterday he was praying that his appointment would not lead to people leaving the church.

Canon Gene Robinson was appointed Bishop New Hampshire by American Episcopal leaders on Tuesday night a move that risks the exodus of conservatives who said their grief was "too deep for words".

The Episcopal church, with 2.3m members, is the US branch of the 77m member Anglican Communion headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

With his daughter, Ella, and his partner of 13 years, Mark Andrew, watching nearby, Bishop Robinson expressed his love for the church when his appointment was confirmed at an Episcopal convention in Minneapolis.

But Bishop Robinson acknowledged that many in the church would be upset by the decision, saying: "That is the only thing that makes this not a completely joyous day for me."

The vote had been delayed when last-minute misconduct allegations emerged against Bishop Robinson. He was cleared just before the vote.

American conservatives and like-minded overseas bishops who represent millions of parishioners have said confirming Bishop Robinson would force them to consider breaking away from the denomination.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the US church, said the vote places "squarely before us the question of how a community can live in the tension of disagreement". Immediately, after results were announced, more than a dozen conservative bishops walked to the podium of the House of Bishops, surrounding Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan who read a statement saying he and the others felt "grief too deep for words".

Some convention delegates who opposed Bishop Robinson left the meeting in tears. "This body willfully confirming the election of a person sexually active outside of holy matrimony has departed from the historic faith and order of the church of Jesus Christ," Bishop Duncan said. "This body has divided itself from millions of Anglican Christians around the world."

He called on the bishops of the Anglican Communion and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, "to intervene in the pastoral emergency that has overtaken us".

The leader of the Anglican church of West Malaysia, Bishop Lim Cheng Ean, said Southeast Asian Anglican bishops may discuss cutting ties with the US church next week.

But the head of Australia's Anglican church, Primate Peter Carnley, considered a liberal, said he didn't think it would be "a communion-breaking issue".

Bishop Robinson said yesterday that "anytime anyone decides to leave the church, it's a very sad thing and I certainly have been praying that such a thing does not happen".

Bishop Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has served as an assistant to the current New Hampshire bishop, who is retiring.

If conservatives do decide to break away, it was unclear what that would mean for the Episcopal church.

A full schism would trigger, among other things, bitter fights over parish assets and undercut the global influence of the US church.