Gay episcopal bishop sees glint of hope in church report

L. Goodstein

The Episcopal bishop at the center of the Anglican Communion's global battle over homosexuality said that at first he was stunned by a church report issued on Monday recommending a moratorium on gay bishops and on blessings of same-sex couples.The report "took my breath away," Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the Anglican Communion's first openly gay bishop, said in an interview yesterday in New York. "Partly because it made me feel lonely. I had hoped not to be the only person on the hot seat for too long."By yesterday, however, Bishop Robinson said he was feeling hopeful. After parsing the fine print in the Windsor Report, the conclusion of a yearlong search for reconciliation in the worldwide Anglican Communion, he and some Episcopal bishops are concluding that they can accept its recommendations.The careful wording in the report leaves "wiggle room" to continue blessing same-sex couples, the bishop said. And he said that the report asked the Episcopal Church USA to express regret for the turmoil caused by his elevation to bishop - not regret for the decision itself."It is an exceptional document and offers us a way forward," he said. "It will be a way forward if we all say yes to it. But we've got to stay at the table."It is still uncertain whether everybody will remain in their chairs. The reaction to the report from Anglican conservatives is far less sunny. Some of them had looked for the report to recommend that the Episcopal Church and Bishop Robinson repent or be expelled from the Communion.