Anglican Head Opposes Lesbian's Elevation to Bishop

The election of an openly lesbian cleric to the post of suffragan bishop, or assistant bishop, in Los Angeles marks the second time the United States' arm of the Anglican church has named a GLBT candidate to such a post, but some fear the occasion--celebrated by gay people of faith and their allies--could precipitate a final fracture in the Anglican global communion.

The election of Canon Mary Glasspool to serve as assistant bishop in Los Angeles ends what had been a moratorium on gay and lesbian Episcopalian and Anglican bishops. With the 2003 elevation of openly gay New Hampshire bishop V. Gene Robinson having intensified the internal stresses of the global church, Glasspool's appointment could deepen the already developing schism; Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the global church, warned that "important implications" could follow, and "very serious questions" be raised, reported The Times Online on Dec. 7.

Glasspool and her same-sex life partner have been together since 1988, the article noted. Her election follows a vote at last July's General Convention of the Episcopal Church that dioceses may elect qualified gay and lesbian candidates as bishops. Many members of the global faith see non-celibate gays and lesbians as living contrary to Biblical instruction; conservative arms of the church had even called on the North American branch, which is liberal in comparison, to "repent" of its embrace of GLBT members of the faith.

"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," Dr. Williams said. "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."

Dr. Williams went on to refer to the moratorium that last summer's vote effectively ended. "The bishops of the Communion have collectively acknowledged that a period of gracious restraint in respect of actions which are contrary to the mind of the Communion is necessary if our bonds of mutual affection are to hold."

But the church's crisis has only worsened over the last six years, since Robinson's consecration, with some North American congregations splitting away from the Episcopal mainstream to ally themselves with the church's African branch in the so-called Anglican re-alignment, or to begin a parallel, conservative arm of the church in North America. The moratorium seemingly did little to reduce the global church's internal tensions.

But the naming of Glasspool as bishop may accelerate what some have called a schism between anti-gay elements in the Anglican church and gay-inclusive congregations. "Unfortunately, this election provides further clarity to the rest of the Anglican Communion," the president of the American Anglican Council, Bishop David Anderson, said. "Should the rest of the Episcopal Church consent to this election, there can be no more pretending that the Episcopal Church holds to Anglican Communion doctrine. Not only has it elected another non-celibate homosexual bishop, but it repeatedly defies the moratorium on same-sex blessings."

In the U.K., the similarly anti-gay Anglican Mainstream, which had prevented the elevation of highly qualified--and openly gay--candidate Dr. Jeffrey John to the status of Bishop of Bangor in Wales, pronounced itself "saddened but not surprised" by Glasspool's election, while the head of Reform, a conservative group within the church, pronounced a schism to be "absolutely inevitable" as a result. Reform's Rev. Rod Thomas also said that he was "deeply ashamed" that Glasspool had been chosen to be Bishop in Los Angeles.

The Times noted that Dr. Williams is reputed to be a liberal himself, but that he had sided with the church's hardliners out of a hope that the global communion could be preserved. The liberal faithful, however, have also dug in their heels, and are unlikely to back down from their choice. Glasspool herself seemed unlikely to step down in order to appease the church's anti-gay elements, stating, "Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one isolated aspect of their persons yearns for justice and equal rights."

In the meantime, the Catholic Church, which has been increasingly active in opposing rights for gay individuals and families, has opened its doors in welcome to disaffected Anglicans who do not wish to see their church accept gays and lesbians on an equal basis with heterosexuals. That has also created concerns for the Anglican faith.

But gay-inclusive members of the church saw their cause as one of justice as well as faith. In a Dec. 6 article The Associated Press quoted Jim Naughton, who is with the pro-GLBT Chicago Consultation, as calling the election "a liberation." Said Naughton, an adviser to the bishop of Washington, "We've been around this issue for 30 years. It's unreasonable to expect us to refrain from acting on the very prayerful conclusions that we've reached, especially when we think there are issues of justice involved."

Said the Very Rev. Mark Kowalewski, the dean of Los Angeles' St John's Cathedral in Los Angeles, "I don't think it's a referendum on electing a woman or a gay person. Those are secondary characteristics."

In the U.K., supporters of GLBT inclusion also celebrated the news. The Times quoted Giles Frasier, canon chancellor at St. Paul's Cathedral, as saying, "This is another nail in the coffin of Christian homophobia."