Delegates seek 'restraint' on electing gay bishops

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Episcopal delegates asked church leaders Wednesday to "exercise restraint" when considering openly gay candidates for bishop, a vote that ended days of painful debate but fell far short of demands to preserve Anglican unity by banning gay bishops.\nThe measure calls on Episcopal prelates to "exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration" of candidates for bishop "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church." However it is nonbinding and -- in a sign of the deep split over gay clergy -- at least one bishop vowed immediately to ignore it.\nArchbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, has been trying to broker a truce between conservative and liberal archbishops worldwide ever since the Episcopal Church shocked traditionalists by consecrating Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.\nRobinson, who was elected in 2003, lives with his longtime male partner. Anglican conservatives -- a majority in the 77-million-member communion -- hold that the Bible prohibits gay sex.\nEpiscopal delegates did vote to affirm the denomination's commitment to the Anglican fellowship; the church is the U.S. arm of the communion. But a proposal for a temporary moratorium on gay bishops never hit the convention floor.\nOn Tuesday, the House of Deputies rebuffed a measure that would have urged dioceses to "refrain from" choosing bishops in same-gender relationships. Some saw its language as sending a slightly tougher signal.\nWhether the Episcopal General Convention went far enough to preserve Anglican ties will play out over months, if not years. World Anglican leaders meet next in February in Tanzania.\nMany Anglican churches have already broken ties with the U.S. church over Robinson's elevation. And if overseas leaders dislike the outcome of the American meeting, it greatly increases the chances that the association of 38 national churches will break apart.\nWednesday's vote, just hours before the end of a nine-day meeting, won praise from Williams but pleased neither American conservatives nor advocates for full inclusion of gays.\nA statement from conservative bishops was read from the convention floor calling the resolution meaningless and accusing the church of "misleading the rest of the communion by giving a false perception that they intend actually" to comply with Anglican requests.\nThe Anglican Communion Network, a group of 10 conservative Episcopal dioceses and more than 900 parishes, is considering splitting from the church and will meet at the end of July to decide its next step.\nA group of 20 progressive bishops issued a statement saying the language in the resolution "too much echoes past attempts by the church to limit participation of those perceived to be inadequate for full inclusion in the ordained ministry."\nRobinson, the New Hampshire bishop, criticized conservative threats to break away. "We have never threatened to leave this church and we're not threatening to do so now," he said of gay and lesbian Episcopalians. "We love this church and we love the God that we worship in and through the church."\nWilliams released a statement saying that the "devoted work" of the convention shows how strong its concern is "to seek reconciliation" with Anglicans. He said the communion will "need to reflect carefully on the significance of what has been decided before we respond more fully."\nDeputies approved the compromise measure only after last-minute pleas for action from outgoing Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who will become presiding bishop in November.\nJefferts Schori told delegates she did not like the resolution, since "I am fully committed to the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians in this church," but said the measure would give the church some time to find a "common mind"