Episcopal diocese to keep blessing
gay couples
By JOHN CHADWICK, bergen.com from the Web, January 29, 2005
The leader of the Episcopal Church in northern New Jersey declared Friday that his diocese will continue to perform blessings for gay couples even though an international church panel has called for a moratorium.
"I supported those decisions then, and I stand by them now," Bishop John P.
Croneberger said in a speech he planned to deliver to hundreds of clergy and lay leaders Friday evening at the Diocese of Newark's annual convention.
"We will continue to carry out our ministries as they are ... appropriate for this diocese."
Croneberger went even further, questioning the importance of preserving unity in the worldwide Anglican Communion, a venerable Protestant denomination that includes the Episcopal Church, and is rife with dissension over homosexuality.
"Could there be a time at which point unity in the Anglican Communion becomes an idol?" he asked, according to a copy of the speech obtained by The Record.
The bishop's statement means priests in the diocese can decide for themselves whether to perform blessings for same-sex couples.
The diocese, covering seven counties and about 120 parishes, is one of the most liberal in the nation.
"I think the bishop is being true to the Gospel," said the Rev. Kevin Coffey of Church of the Atonement in Fair Lawn.
"Jesus came to throw his arms around everyone and welcome people to the house of God."
But to many members of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, it will be seen as heresy.
The communion also covers provinces in Asia, Africa and Latin America that are deeply conservative and follow traditional biblical prohibitions against homosexual behavior.
Those provinces were outraged over the actions of Croneberger and other U.S. bishops who approved the 2003 election of a gay bishop in New Hampshire.
The outcry prompted a panel to rebuke the American church in October and ask it to hold off on ordaining homosexuals as bishops, and on performing blessing rites for gay couples.
So far, at least 15 of the 110 diocesan bishops in the U.S. church have agreed to a moratorium, a spokeswoman for the denomination said.
The presiding American bishop is expected to issue an official response in March to the call for a moratorium.
The Newark Diocese will vote on its own response during its convention.
Meanwhile, a conservative priest in Hackensack said he's worried the church is courting schism.
"This is really about whether or not Anglicans believe in a revealed religion," said the Rev. Brian Laffler of St. Anthony of Padua Church.
"This battle is about the authority of the Holy Scriptures."
But Croneberger said his Christian faith calls for helping all oppressed people, including homosexuals.
"We need to ... explore, understand and bear witness to God's presence and love for all of God's creation," Croneberger said.
"This work on human sexuality is part of the mission of our church to our suffering and bewildered world."
The diocese, which covers Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Hudson, Essex, Sussex and Warren counties, will continue its convention today at the Hilton Parsippany Hotel.
Participants will vote on a number of resolutions, including one calling for abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey.
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