"Lesbian Priest Reignites Church Storm"

From Rev. Irene Monroe's column at The Bilerico Project:

Since the 2003 consecration of the Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the church's first openly gay bishop, that set off a worldwide firestorm of reactions both positive and negative, the recent election of an openly lesbian candidate, the Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool of Baltimore, as bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Los Angeles will re-ignite the storm once again.


Glasspool's election has already brought immediate concerns to the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Issuing a cautionary statement in response to the Diocese of Los Angeles' election of Glasspool Williams stated the following:


"The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole. The process of selection however is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications."


Although Williams denounces anti-gay prejudice in the church, Glasspool's election is the prism through which we see the Episcopal Church's long-time struggle and history with homosexuality.


Williams candidly told the Episcopal News Service "changing the Anglican theological position on homosexuality would have to be based on the most painstaking biblical exegesis and on a wide acceptance of the results within the Communion."


And that acceptance won't come easy.

Click here to read the rest of the essay.