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Church says no to ban on gay bishops

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 21, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Episcopal clergy and lay delegates Tuesday rejected a request from fellow Anglicans that they temporarily stop electing gay bishops, leaving little chance the proposal could be revived at a national church meeting.

Anglican leaders, angered by the 2003 consecration of an openly gay Episcopal bishop, had asked the Episcopalians pass a moratorium - at least for now - on homosexuals leading dioceses.

But in a complex balloting system, a majority of the Episcopal House of Deputies voted against a measure that would have urged dioceses to refrain from electing homosexuals to lead them.

Northern Indiana Bishop Edward Little, who was on the committee that drafted the measure, said before the vote that if deputies did not approve the legislation "that would be the end" of debate on a moratorium.

Mainline Protestant groups, including Methodists and the largest U.S. Lutheran branch, have been struggling for decades over the traditional Christian prohibition on gay sex as lesbians and gays push for full inclusion in their churches. The issue has frequently dominated debate at national Protestant assemblies.

The Episcopal General Convention ends today, and the House of Bishops could still try to resurrect the ban on gay bishops.

Presbyterians okay leeway for ordaining gays

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national assembly voted Tuesday to create some leeway for gay clergy and lay officers to serve local congregations, despite a denominational ban on partnered gay ministers.

A measure approved 298-221 by a Presbyterian national assembly keeps in place a church law that says clergy and lay elders and deacons must limit sexual relations to man-woman marriage. But the new legislation says local congregations and regional presbyteries can exercise some flexibility when choosing clergy and lay officers of local congregations if sexual orientation or other issues arise.

The decision concluded a hard-fought struggle lasting years between liberals and conservatives in the 2.3-million member denomination.

Ten conservative caucuses allied to fight any change, and conservatives lost two last-ditch efforts to kill or delay the measure.

The Presbyterian establishment, including all seminary presidents and many officials, promoted the flexibility plan, which was devised by a special task force. The idea is to grant modest change to liberals but mollify conservatives by keeping the sexual law on the books.

[Last modified June 21, 2006, 06:47:07]