Unintended consequences of a lesbian bishop

From IRD via VirtueOnline:

by Jeff Walton
March 19, 2010

Episcopal Church religious watchdog organization says the election of a lesbian as a bishop in the Episcopal Church will cause problems in a number of areas.

Mary Glasspool of Baltimore is now an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Glasspool was elected last year but needed the full church's approval to be consecrated this spring. (See earlier article) According to Jeff Walton with the Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD), Glasspool's election will make it tough for Christians in certain countries.

"Last week there were over 500 people who were killed in three villages surrounding Jos Nigeria," he shares. "These Christian villagers were killed for their faith. The people who attacked them were yelling 'God is great' in Arabic, and one of the charges against the Christians was that they were immoral."

Jeff Walton (The Institute on Religion and Democracy)Walton explains the rationale behind that accusation.

"When a Muslim sees the newspaper headline, 'Anglican elects partnered lesbian bishop,' they don't draw a distinction between African Christians and European or American Christians," he says.

The IRD spokesman is quick to point out that he is not blaming the Episcopal Church for the attacks in Nigeria. But he says Episcopal Church officials in the United States are not taking that factor into account in their race to be "all inclusive." In 2003 the Episcopal Church -- the American arm of the Anglican Church -- consecrated the first openly homosexual bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Click on the website below and hit the arrow icon next to the words "hear report" http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=942822


----Jeff Walton writes on the Episcopal Church for IRD. Their website can be accessed here: http://www.theird.org/Page.aspx?pid=183