Gay bishop steps up

last updated 8 January 2015

Durham, N.H.

V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire was consecrated this week as the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop. When Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold invited dissenters to speak, a Pittsburgh priest recited a list of sexual acts “engaged in by homosexuals.” Griswold interrupted, saying, “Spare us the details.” Sister churches in Africa declared themselves in “impaired communion” with the American church, a step toward a full-blown schism. “The devil has clearly entered our church,” said Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi of Kenya. Conservative U.S. bishops warned that Episcopalians who believed homosexuality was a sin would be forced to break away. “If they must leave,” Robinson said, “they will always be welcomed back.”