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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Episcopal Church USA's election of a female presiding bishop who supports gay bishops and the blessing of gay unions may stress the centuries-old global Anglican Communion to the breaking point.
Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan said Monday that "the church's leaders are leading people astray." And he cautioned people not to forsake the Bible -- which he says calls homosexual behavior a sin -- and run off with "the Church of What's Happening Now."
In England, Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali told The Daily Telegraph, "Nobody wants a split, but if you think you have virtually two religions in a single church, something has got to give sometime."
The choice of Bishop of Nevada Katharine Jefferts Schori to head the 2.3-million-member U.S. church puts the 26-million-member Church of England in the crossfire internally and globally.
That church has been deadlocked for years over whether to let female priests become bishops, and the issue is the hot spot on the agenda for a summer bishops meeting in England. The Roman Catholic Church has warned that consecrating female bishops would put a "chill" in relations with Rome.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who also heads the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, called Jefferts Schori early Monday with "prayers and good wishes." He also said in a statement that "her election will undoubtedly have an impact" within the Communion and in its ecumenical relations.
Most Anglicans are traditionalists who say that neither a woman nor an active homosexual have authority to speak for God, the essential role of a bishop, and that homosexual behavior is a sin.
They were aghast in 2003 when the U.S. church consecrated an openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. To ward off schism then, leaders insisted, in a paper called the Windsor Report, that the U.S. church take three actions at its triennial meeting:
*Express "regret" for provoking outrage in 2003.
*Put a "moratorium" on choosing gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions.
*Provide alternative pastoral care for churches that won't accept sacraments from clergy who approved Robinson's election.
But the 1,400 bishops, clergy and lay delegates meeting here have yet to finally pass on any key Windsor response. One priest, Frank Wade of Washington, D.C., pleaded for compromise, saying: "No one is being asked to stop believing differently from others."
In 2003, traditionalists walked out and formed the Anglican Communion Network, led by Duncan. Monday, he said the network's 10 dioceses and 900 parishes will wait for the Episcopal Church's final response to the Windsor Report and Communion reactions this summer.
It's a pragmatic call. If the Communion were to designate the network as the authentic denomination, it could strengthen the traditionalists' claim to parish properties in court battles.
"Hang on!" Duncan told followers.
But one diocese would not. Monday morning, the Diocese of Fort Worth, which doesn't accept female clergy, appealed to Williams to let it affiliate with an Anglican church abroad.
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