Posted on 02/24/2006 12:30:25 PM PST by jecIIny
Gay Calif. Episcopal priests up for bishop Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two openly gay priests are candidates to become bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, and the election of either could worsen the rift over homosexuality in the bitterly divided church. The Rev. Bonnie Perry of Chicago and the Very Rev. Robert Taylor of Seattle are among the five candidates. Both have longtime same-sex partners.
The church has been torn over the issue of gay clergy since 2003, when the Rev. Gene Robinson, who has a longtime male partner, was elected bishop of New Hampshire.
The following year, an emergency panel of the global Anglican Communion, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church and 77 million people in 164 countries, asked for a moratorium on installing bishops who are in same-sex relationships.
But each province within the Anglican Communion can make its own decisions because the group lacks a governing body like the Vatican for Roman Catholics.
"There's nothing really the Anglican Communion can do to us. But they can say they're no longer in communion with us," said Sean McConnell, spokesman for the Diocese of California.
Leaders of the Episcopal Church have apologized for the divisions caused by Robinson's elevation to bishop, but they have not expressed regret over his election.
The American Anglican Council, which advocates on behalf of traditionalists who have formed a separate network of dissenting churches, posted a strongly worded letter on its Web site opposing the two gay nominees. Conservatives believe the Bible forbids gay relationships.
"If the Episcopal Church had any intention of repentance, candidates would clearly adhere to the authority of Scripture, affirm the apostolic faith, and commit to the immediate cessation of ordination/consecration of noncelibate homosexuals as well as the blessings of same-sex unions," the letter said.
Canon David Anderson, the group's president and chief executive, said American church leaders who accept same-sex relationships "need to repent" and reconsider their decision.
The Rev. Paul Zahl, dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pa., said if either of the gay candidates is chosen as the new bishop, it's a "definitive thumbing of the nose at the worldwide church."
He said hundreds of Episcopalians already left the church after Robinson was consecrated and "for those who are still hanging in there, this election would be the final straw. That's no judgment on the individuals, but on the principle."
But others say the church has been rife with conflict since its beginning, often over questions of who should be accepted. "There's always been a plurality of voices," said the Rev. Ian Douglas, a professor at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.
Taylor said people will be asking "who has the capacity to be the next bishop."
"They're not going to elect someone on simply one facet of them as a human being," he said from his Seattle church.
The other three candidates are the Rt. Rev. Mark Handley Andrus, bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Alabama; the Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen's Church in Lynn, Mass.; the Rev. Canon Eugene Taylor Sutton, canon pastor of Washington National Cathedral.
The election to replace the retiring Rev. William Swingis, the country's longest-serving bishop, is scheduled for May 6 in San Francisco.
No, Paul, electing Victoria Imogene was thumbing the nose. This would be more like salt in an open, bleeding, infected, pus-oozing wound.
He said hundreds of Episcopalians already left the church after Robinson was consecrated
Hundreds, Paulie? Try thousands. Try tens of thousands. Try hundreds of thousands.
"for those who are still hanging in there, this election would be the final straw.
Naw, they'll still be hanging when they put the golden calf on the altar. And call it good.
I actually enjoy this kind of thing. I'm outta there, hasta la vista baby. It helps me to read how utterly morally bankrupt the episcopalians really are.
Thanks JEC.
Faithful Anglo-guys, ping for ya.
What is it with all this "gayness" in the Catholic and Anglican churches? How did this perversion happen in both and how did it ever get this bad?
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this moderately high-volume ping list (typically 3-9 pings/day).
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Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15
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Episcopal Bishop Issues Jihad Against Cartoon Depicting Jesus as "Son Of God" (Latest Parody News)
The Iconoclast.ca ^ | William Grim
Posted on 02/25/2006 6:35:41 AM PST by Apolitical
EPISCOPAL BISHOP ISSUES JIHAD AGAINST CARTOON DEPICTING JESUS AS "SON OF GOD"
(Fire Island, NY) -- The Right Reverend Percy Dovetonsils III, Bishop Suffragan for the Diocese of Fire Island, Provincetown and San Francisco, today called for the beheading of the entire editorial staff of Catholic Monthly for publishing a cartoon in which Jesus of Nazareth is depicted as being the "Son of God."
The cartoon, published in the October 12, 2005 edition of the magazine, and titled "Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead," shows a halo-crowned Jesus miraculously bringing Lazarus back to life. In contemporary Episcopalian theology, all references to religion, miracles, holiness, God, and the Bible are considered to be blasphemous -- distracting believers from more important religious priorities such as promoting same-sex marriage and voting rights for illegal immigrants.
"The pictorial representation of the alleged divinity of the notorious Jewish political leader variously known as Jesus, the Son of Man, and the Son of God is deeply offensive to all progressive-minded Episcopalians," said Bishop Dovetonsils this morning at the annual Solidarity Breakfast of the anti-1st Amendment lobbying group, Episcopalians Against Christianity.......
(Excerpt) Read more at iconoclast.ca ...
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