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CNN Live At Daybreak
Talk of CNN: Episcopal Church Gay Bishop Vote
Aired August 04, 2003 - 05:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Episcopal Church is just one step away from having its first openly gay bishop. Delegates meeting at the denomination's convention in Minneapolis will cast the last of three required votes today.
Reverend Gene Robinson is hoping to become bishop of the New Hampshire diocese, which selected him in June.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. GENE ROBINSON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST: I think we have two wonderful opportunities. One is to say to the world, this Episcopal Church is wide open. There is no one beyond God's love. And you are welcome here. We mean what it says in our signs, the Episcopal Church welcomes you. And we have the opportunity to show the world how brothers and sisters in the body of Christ can treat each other with respect and forbearance and dignity and far reaching love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Bishops who believe gay sex is a sin say the approval of Robinson will divide the church.
Of course the buzz in New Hampshire this morning is all about the gay priest and his bid to become bishop.
Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier, better known as "The WOKQ Waking Crew in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire," live on the phone with us right now.
Good morning.
MARK ERICSON, "THE WOKQ WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH AND MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE": Morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so the third and final vote scheduled for today, will it be a yes vote?
ERICSON: Well, you know as the saying goes, two out of three ain't bad, and so far that's where we are at. And you know nobody is looking at this thing from the standpoint of a no vote. Everyone is sort of assuming that 56-year-old Gene Robinson is going to wind up being the first ever openly gay bishop.
COSTELLO: You have to wonder if he thought it would be this problematic? ERICSON: Well I think they knew going in that it was going to be something of a problem. The votes so far have been bodies composed of both clergy and lay people. Today, it's the House of Bishops. It's 100 bishops. That's the final vote today.
COSTELLO: How is he looked upon in New Hampshire? Has he been widely accepted by the people there?
ERICSON: Well, again, this is -- this is the state that sort of started this whole thing, Carol. And yes, it's been -- it's been very positive, although as it stands right now, everyone is taking sort of a -- sort of a light view of this. No one is openly celebrating all of this, because everyone understands that this can be a little divisive for the church. So people are excited but still a little restrained.
COSTELLO: Well it could be especially divisive overseas for Episcopalians there.
ERICSON: Well one of the things that has been brought up in all of this is that over the years this sort of thing has happened in the Episcopal Church before. When women were ordained, there was the threat of divisiveness within the church, but many people are saying that that never really materialized.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens. And of course we'll be following that vote in Minneapolis this morning.
Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK. Of course you are up anyway for your own show, so you are a captive audience for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 4, 2003 - 05:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Episcopal Church is just one step away from having its first openly gay bishop. Delegates meeting at the denomination's convention in Minneapolis will cast the last of three required votes today.
Reverend Gene Robinson is hoping to become bishop of the New Hampshire diocese, which selected him in June.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. GENE ROBINSON, EPISCOPAL PRIEST: I think we have two wonderful opportunities. One is to say to the world, this Episcopal Church is wide open. There is no one beyond God's love. And you are welcome here. We mean what it says in our signs, the Episcopal Church welcomes you. And we have the opportunity to show the world how brothers and sisters in the body of Christ can treat each other with respect and forbearance and dignity and far reaching love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Bishops who believe gay sex is a sin say the approval of Robinson will divide the church.
Of course the buzz in New Hampshire this morning is all about the gay priest and his bid to become bishop.
Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier, better known as "The WOKQ Waking Crew in Portsmouth and Manchester, New Hampshire," live on the phone with us right now.
Good morning.
MARK ERICSON, "THE WOKQ WAKING CREW, PORTSMOUTH AND MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE": Morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, so the third and final vote scheduled for today, will it be a yes vote?
ERICSON: Well, you know as the saying goes, two out of three ain't bad, and so far that's where we are at. And you know nobody is looking at this thing from the standpoint of a no vote. Everyone is sort of assuming that 56-year-old Gene Robinson is going to wind up being the first ever openly gay bishop.
COSTELLO: You have to wonder if he thought it would be this problematic? ERICSON: Well I think they knew going in that it was going to be something of a problem. The votes so far have been bodies composed of both clergy and lay people. Today, it's the House of Bishops. It's 100 bishops. That's the final vote today.
COSTELLO: How is he looked upon in New Hampshire? Has he been widely accepted by the people there?
ERICSON: Well, again, this is -- this is the state that sort of started this whole thing, Carol. And yes, it's been -- it's been very positive, although as it stands right now, everyone is taking sort of a -- sort of a light view of this. No one is openly celebrating all of this, because everyone understands that this can be a little divisive for the church. So people are excited but still a little restrained.
COSTELLO: Well it could be especially divisive overseas for Episcopalians there.
ERICSON: Well one of the things that has been brought up in all of this is that over the years this sort of thing has happened in the Episcopal Church before. When women were ordained, there was the threat of divisiveness within the church, but many people are saying that that never really materialized.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens. And of course we'll be following that vote in Minneapolis this morning.
Mark Ericson and Danielle Carrier, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK. Of course you are up anyway for your own show, so you are a captive audience for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
