Episcopal Church and Gay Bishops — Stepping Back from the Abyss

From Reuters:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - The U.S. Episcopal Church on Wednesday, reversing an earlier decision, adopted a resolution to avoid the consecration of additional gay bishops, a move designed to heal strained relations with 77 million fellow Anglicans worldwide.

The action reversed a decision made 24 hours earlier when one of two legislative bodies at the 2.3-million-member U.S. church’s triennial convention rejected a similar idea.

The resolution adopted by both the church’s bishops and by lay and clergy diocesan representatives voting in separate bodies calls on bishops and local committees “to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate (for bishop) whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion.”

Debate during the week-long convention made it clear that the “manner of life” caution applied to openly gay candidates for the episcopate.

The church has been in turmoil since its consecration three years ago of Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first bishop known to be in an openly gay relationship in more than 450 years of Anglican history.

What will they do next? Vote, by a narrow margin, to condemn the works of Satan?