Ethics & Public Policy

Essays by Harry T. Cook

August 15, 2008

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To read this weekend's essay, "Count Me Out," scroll down. Recently, the bishops of what's left of the Anglican Communion met in solemn session for three weeks in England and brought forth a mouse. Instead of ignoring their fundamentalist counterparts' ranting and raving about the Bible's supposed condemnation of gay and lesbian persons, the bishops caved and agreed to "moratoria" on the ordination of openly gay/lesbian bishops who live outside the closet with their partners and on the blessing of same-gender relationships. All to appease the unappeasable. Where's the courage?

Harry T. Cook

______________________________________

Count Me Out

Harry T. Cook

The prelates of Lambeth have decided to continue what is called "a season of gracious restraint" in the matter of ordaining partnered gay and lesbian persons as bishops as well as of blessing same-gender relationships. The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, calls them "moratoria." Sounds like the name of a character on "The Addams Family." The hopelessly saccharine phrase "season of gracious restraint" is a euphemism for justice delayed, which, of course, is justice denied. Imagine telling Martin Luther King, Jr., in, say, 1965, that his kind would just have to wait a generation until a sufficient number of white folk could begin to stomach the idea of sharing drinking fountains or lunch counters with Negroes. Imagine telling Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori just a few years ago that the Anglican world was not ready for a woman Presiding Bishop, that she would have to mind her p's and q's until such time as it was. "Season of gracious restraint," my foot. Now-Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori and Williams of Canterbury have their eyes focused on keeping the Anglican Communion from fracturing over the sexuality issue.

They want to temporize and keep on talking with their African counterparts until some accommodation with them can be reached. Two cheers for that effort. To placate the conservative Third World bishops - and their American counterparts - it would be necessary to unearth unquestioned originals of Leviticus and Paul in which allusions to homosexuality were absent. It would be necessary further to demonstrate that those few bible verses so often cited as being God's condemnation of homosexuality were added by ancient homophobes. In any event, no amount of explanation about how those texts - like others mentioning, for example, the need for priests to refrain from rounding the corners of their beards - are tied by cult and culture to faraway times and places will appease the bibliolatrous conservatives.

It will be at least two or three generations, if then, before many African bishops catch up with the higher criticism that has informed biblical interpretation for at least the last 150 years - meaning that the Williams-Jefferts Schori "moratoria" may become more or less a permanent state of affairs. Justice delayed; justice denied. Meanwhile, the presence of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson stands as a rebuke of those moratoria. Five years ago, Robinson was duly and enthusiastically chosen Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire by its lay and clergy electors, all of whom were fully aware of his sexual orientation and his committed relationship with a man. By all accounts, Robinson is as excellent a bishop as he was a priest. Knowing him, I can bear witness to his personal courage and integrity. As to the moratorium on the blessing of same-gender relationships, Jefferts Schori has said, correctly, that neither she nor all her fellow American bishops together can make such a policy for the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. Only a triennial meeting of the church's General Convention including equal numbers of lay and clergy delegates can do such a thing. Jefferts Schori, evidently wanting to be seen as protective of episcopal prerogative, went on to say that individual bishops make "their own decisions" on such matters "within the canonical responsibilities of their own dioceses."

Let it be understood that any bishop who tries to enforce the moratorium on the blessing of same-gender relationships will be violating his or her baptismal promise to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being. This human being will have no part in that moratorium. I will continue to offer benediction upon same-gender couples who engage with me in the kind of thorough preparation I insist be followed by heterosexual couples seeking the church's nuptial blessing. I reject out of hand the bishops' craven moratoria as they, on bended knee, beg their conservative brethren to . . . to what? To remain in the Anglican Communion?

To eschew schism? To be nice?

The Anglican Communion is largely history; its remnant resembles a slow-motion fight among arthritic, toothless cats. Schism? As if such were not already the case. Nice? That's been over for a long while. A moratorium, if such there must be, let it be on the incessant whining for an impossible comity among those who take the bible seriously and those who take it literally. Waste of time. So now those who once wanted to make me a defendant in a heresy trial may look forward to seeing me charged with ignoring a moratorium. I would resist any bishop's order to refrain from blessing the relationships of same-gender couples, because unless and until such a moratorium is made policy by the General Convention, in which clergy and lay delegates are represented in equal numbers, it would be of no practical effect.

If the moratorium does become policy, then I shall by definition be a non-compliant dissenter from the same, preferring in the matter of my gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-sexual sisters and brothers to make good on the baptismal covenant's promise to strive for justice and to respect the dignity of every human being. Let them put me in the dock for that offense.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

© Copyright 2008, Harry T. Cook. All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced without proper credit.