Vote on gay bishop is delayed

US Episcopal leaders delayed a vote on whether to confirm the church’s first openly gay elected bishop after allegations emerged that he inappropriately touched a man and posted a pornography link on a youth website, a church spokesman said.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the Episcopal Church, released a statement last night announcing the delay as a debate was about to start on whether to confirm the Rev Gene Robinson as New Hampshire’s bishop.

“Questions have been raised and brought to my attention regarding the bishop-elect of the Diocese of New Hampshire,” Griswold said.

Griswold said that Robinson, the current New Hampshire bishop and representatives of his diocese decided together ”that a thorough investigation be undertaken before we proceed”.

Mike Barwell, a spokesman for Robinson, said he planned to release a statement later tonight.

James Solheim, a church spokesman, said the allegations of inappropriate touching had been e-mailed to bishops.

In the e-mail, a man who identified himself as David Lewis from Manchester, Vermont, said Robinson “does not maintain appropriate boundaries with men”.

Solheim said “some of the bishops have talked to the accuser” and vetted the accusation.

Lewis said he had met Robinson at a church event “a couple of years ago” and alleged “he put his hands on me inappropriately every time I engaged him in conversation”.

In addition, current New Hampshire Bishop Douglas Theuner said in a statement that the investigation would look at “concerns raised about Canon Robinson” involving ”his relationship to a website of outright.org,” a secular outreach programme for gay and bisexual youth.

He said he did not know how long the investigation would take or if the vote would take place before the church’s national meeting ends on Friday.

Robyn Cotton, an Episcopalian in Concord, New Hampshire, and a supporter of Robinson, called the allegations "preposterous".

“This is horrible. It’s character assassination,” Cotton said. “It’s just horrible. It is so unnecessary.”

Robinson needs approval from delegates to the church’s General Convention to become bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. His candidacy drew intense opposition from conservatives, who said they would consider breaking away from the church if he was confirmed.

Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has been attending the convention with his daughter and partner of 13 years, Mark Andrew.

On Sunday, the House of Deputies, a legislative body comprised of clergy and lay people from dioceses nationwide, approved Robinson by a 2-to-1 margin.

The House of Bishops, comprised of bishops from around the country, had been scheduled to vote on whether to ratify the election today. It is not known when the vote would now be held.

Robinson’s chances were unclear. It is rare for the General Convention to reject a diocese’s choice of bishops, but the denomination has been deeply divided for decades over homosexuality.

The American Anglican Council, which represents conservative bishops and parishes, plans a meeting in October to decide whether to breakaway from the church or take some other action if Robinson is seated.

Like-minded bishops in the Anglican Communion, the 77-million-member global association that includes the Episcopal Church, said they, too, will consider severing ties with the denomination if Robinson wins.

The Anglican Communion brings together the churches founded by the Church of England in the days of the British Empire. Unlike the Catholic Church, where authority flows down from the Vatican, Anglicanism is a loose association of 38 national provinces which, in practical terms, do as they wish.

Robinson was elected by his diocese in June, but the church requires that a majority of convention delegates ratify his election.

The Episcopal Church has no official policy either for or against ordaining gays.

Some Episcopal parishes already allow homosexual clergy to serve and gays who did not reveal their sexual orientation have been elected bishop. But Robinson is the first clergyman in the Anglican Communion to live openly as a gay man before being elected.

Robinson has rejected calls from conservatives that he withdraw from consideration to prevent a break-up of the church, as a gay clergyman, Cannon Jeffrey John, did recently in England when he turned down the job of Bishop of Reading.

If Robinson is rejected, he could try to run again in his next diocesan election, but it was unclear whether he would do so. Asked about his plans if he loses, he said only that he “may do some talking with God and the people of New Hampshire about what to do next.”