the lavender ceiling

By Fr. Wilson ( articles ) | Jun 07, 2003

Well, 'tis done. This morning, a special convention of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire elected The Rev. Gene Robinson to be the next Bishop. 'So what,' says you?

"Gene enjoys entertaining and cooking, gardening, music, and running. The father of two grown daughters, Jamee and Ella, he lives with his partner Mark Andrew, employed by the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services."

The Bishop-Elect left his wife to live in a 'committed' homosexual relationship.

The Anglican Communion is in turmoil. In Canada the Diocese of New Westminster is already blessing homosexual unions, and at least two provinces of the Communion worldwide have declared them out of communion. In England, traditionalists are infuriated that a new Bishop-Elect is found to be in a 'committed' relationship with the knowledge of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Now this: the election of an active homosexual diocesan bishop in America.

This is not just a problem for Anglicans. It poses a problem for Catholics as well. To bear all of this in mind, then review Cardinal Kasper's recent, optimistic pronouncements on ecumenism is illuminating. There are lots of folks who would be unhappy with Kasper's pronouncements -- traditional Anglicans especially in Africa and South America, Ever since Paul VI met Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey in the heady days of the mid-1960s, liberal Protestantism has piled on one doctrinal innovation after another. One wonders at what point our ecumenical discussions become realistic, as opposed to optimistic.