DATE=10/31/03
TYPE=Dateline
NUMBER=7-38010
TITLE=Episcopal Church Debate
BYLINE=PAT BODNAR
TELEPHONE=619-0720
DATELINE=Washington
EDITOR=Carol Castiel
CONTENT=
DISK: DATELINE THEME [PLAYED IN STUDIO, FADED UNDER DATELINE HOST VOICE OR PROGRAMMING MATERIAL]
HOST: The Anglican Communion in the United Statesof which the Episcopal Church is a member is in the midst of a heated debate that some fear may cause a "dramatic realignment". At the heart of the debate is an openly gay man, who is poised to become the next bishop of northeastern state of New Hampshire Sunday. Pat Bodnar has more in this Dateline report.
PB: A divorced father of two, Reverend Canon Gene Robinson is set to become the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, in the diocese of New Hampshire. In a recent meeting with parishioners at Grace Episcopal Church in Manchester, Reverend Robinson addressed the concerns about him head-on.
Dalet: CUT 1, Robinson
"There are people who call me the most dangerous man in the Anglican Communion. Look at me! [Laughter] Really! Let's be clear, we've always had gay bishops. All I'm doing is being honest about it."
PB: Canon Robinson embodies the debate that cuts deep into the theological, cultural and political heart of the Church. At stake is the continued unity of the more than two million-member (2.3) Episcopal Church. At its triennial convention in August, the Church became the first mainline Protestant denomination to confirm an openly gay bishop. This move came after Canon Robinson won election to the post by his own diocese in June.
PB: But Conservatives appear ready to leave if given the chance. They called for leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part, to act against Canon Robinson taking the post.
PB: At the conclusion of a recent emergency meeting in London, Anglican leaders, or primates, released a statement saying that if Reverend Robinson's consecration proceeds, it puts their international association of churches in jeopardy.
After the meeting, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams acknowledged the seriousness of the issue at hand.
Dalet: CUT 2, Rowan
"It would have been rather surprising to think at this gathering we would have been able to make all of our problems go away at once. We haven't."
PB: Still later, in a BBC interview, the Archbishop said he thought that a "huge crisis" was looming in the Church. And when asked if he thought Canon Robinson should be consecrated, he responded "No I do not."
Vocal Episcopal Church conservatives, led by the American Anglican Council, stress the importance of chastity outside of marriage, and repeatedly appeal to the Bible to uphold their view that homosexuality is sinful.
Bruce Mason is a spokesperson for the American Anglican Council and its position.
Dalet: CUT 3 Mason
"We believe that Gene has made a wrong choice, that he is living in a sinful lifestyle, and it's a choice that he made. By the Church upholding that choice in a very public way, and elevating him to the top leadership of the Episcopal Church or the top tier of leadership of the Episcopal church it is saying that is okay. It is setting a terrible example for our families, for children. It is also showing a profound arrogance."
PB: Conservatives have called for the creation of what they call 'ecclesiastical refuges' for conservative parishes who disagree with the stands of the mainstream and more liberal dioceses. They hope to be able to create a parallel "orthodox" Episcopal Church, and eventually be recognized as a continuing Anglican community presence. Bruce Mason from the American Anglican Council says that Anglican primates came out of their recent emergency meeting backing conservatives in their plan to split from the mainline Episcopal church.
Dalet: CUT 4, Mason
"So basically they said 'we stand firmly in your camp' orthodox Episcopalians. So we see ourselves trying to do is to build a network of confessing dioceses and parishes to come together and begin to lay the foundation to build the core of a new Episcopal realignment which could take the form of a new structure or province."
PB: The Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Bishop of Washington D.C. and dean of the National Cathedral, bristles at the suggestion that Gene Robinson is anything but the legitimate bishop-elect of the New Hampshire diocese. He says conservatives like the American Anglican Council only represent a small percentage of the entire Episcopal church, but are well-funded and vocal. Bishop Chane says Church canon law upholds the election of Canon Robinson within the Church and as the bishop of the New Hampshire diocese.
Dalet: CUT 5, Chane
"The issue of biblical "inerrency" if you will, is really not an issue that you can base this election on. Because this election was based not only on the constitution and canon of the Episcopal Church of the United States and the constitution and canons and bylaws of the archdiocese of New Hampshire."
PB: Bishop Chane calls the demands for Gene Robinson to step aside, "regrettable". And on the issue of "sin", Bishop Chane has this to say.
JBC: CUT 6, Chane
"I get very very edgy when people begin to confess the sins of other people. And basically that's the direction this group of people have taken."
PB: The Episcopal Divinity School's (the) Reverend Ian Douglas, says this is the most divisive issue facing the church to date.
Dalet: CUT 7, Douglas
"Anglicans around the world have always considered themselves to be part of the 'church universal'. And to have a rupture or a loss of that connectivity would be a great sadness."
PB: The furor in the United States exposes a larger split of the faithful on the issue of homosexuality. The primates of the West Indies, South America and Nigeria have asked Canon Robinson not to go through with his consecration. The three leaders have been among his most vocal critics.
But Bishop-elect Robinson has no intention of stepping aside. He told an Episcopal congregation in Manchester New Hampshire recently that even though his consecration could put the unity of the Church in jeopardy, he is determined to go ahead with it.
GR: CUT 8, Robinson
"I believe that we can hold together while we continue to fight about this. If someone decides that this one issue is bigger than all that holds us together. And they decide to leave. I hope they don't leave. This church is big enough for all of us. But if they leave, I just can't shoulder the responsibility for that."
Dalet: Ambience from Church [establish and fade]
PB: Choir members in Canon Robinson's diocese have been preparing for the upcoming religious ceremony. Soprano Jeanie Blood has been attending St. John's Episcopal Church for 47 years. She says despite the deep division in the Anglican Communion, most choir members in the diocese say they will stand by their new bishop.
Dalet: CUT 9, Blood
"Gene Robinson is a very deeply religious individual and he has our best interests at heart. I firmly believe he is the right man for the job."
PB: Some parishioners have left the New Hampshire diocese. Others have stayed, but say they won't put money in the collection basket anymore. Edna Swank is a member of the diocese, who sides with the orthodox critics of Gene Robinson.
Dalet: CUT 10, Swank
"As a small child, I was taught that any sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin. I'm not judging him as a person. I'm just simply saying the activity. Just like adultery. When they try to convince us that it's no longer a sin, I don't buy it."
PB: While further division seems imminent in the Episcopal church, this Sunday (November 2) in Durham, New Hampshire, Gene Robinson will take up the bishop's mitre and crozier, in an elaborate religious ceremony enveloped in prayer and song. (begin establishing music) Family members, critics and supporters will be present at the consecration ceremony. More than fifty bishops are expected to attend, and Bishop Frank Griswold, who heads the U.S. Episcopal Church, will preside. For Dateline, I'm Pat Bodnar.
Dalet: [Music/church hymn--Bring up music under last graph and out]
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