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How Confirmation of Reverend Gene Robinson Being Received by Church Leaders

Aired August 06, 2003 - 05:06   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: Another controversy this morning, the Episcopal Church and its newly confirmed openly gay bishop.
Our Jeff Flock tells us how the confirmation of the Reverend Gene Robinson is being received by church leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The question is now what becomes of the U.S. Episcopal Church. Now, 62 of a little more than 100 bishops have voted to affirm V. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of the Episcopal faith, and, in fact, the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of any mainline Christian faith.

(voice-over): As we said, it was a fairly close vote. The election was delayed by a day when some eleventh hour allegations came to light. One allegation that Mr. Robinson, while a reverend, had inappropriately touched a parishioner. That allegation was investigated by the bishops. They found that the touch was, you know, done in a public place. He essentially put his arm around a man as he answered a question. They determined that not to be inappropriate and they went on with the vote, which now has, in some sense, ended up with the historic result, the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The question is what happens to some of the parishioners who have felt very strongly against this action? Some say it's not a matter of them leaving the church, it is a matter of the church having left them.

This is Jeff Flock in Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And our Susan Candiotti sat down with the new bishop and he had this to say after the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BISHOP GENE ROBINSON, DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: It's been a long time in coming. It's not so much a dream as a calling from god and I'm really thrilled to be on my way to being the bishop of New Hampshire.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel as though you are now still in a firestorm? You have people now who are saying that you have, indeed, shattered the church and you will cause a divide that is irreparable, possibly.

ROBINSON: Time will tell. I firmly believe that we can hold together, as we have held together over many controversies in the Anglican Communion and in the Episcopal Church. And I am really confident that god will see us through.

CANDIOTTI: What does this ratification mean?

ROBINSON: Well, it means that gay and lesbian folk are welcomed into the church in a wholly new and more deeply felt way, that, indeed, we are able to exercise our ministries in leadership positions and I think we're on our way to being a real part of this church in a way that we've not been able to be for a while.

CANDIOTTI: What do you think of the last minute allegations that were made against you? And do you in any way believe that either one of them were part of, quite frankly, a smear campaign, or not?

ROBINSON: I think the timing was a bit curious. But these allegations are always serious when they are offered and I'm proud to be a part of a church that takes them seriously and, indeed, I was the person who helped set up the policies and procedures for dealing with such allegations on behalf of our dioceses in northern New England.

So it was a joy for me, really, although it was a very painful day. It was a joy for me to see that our process works.

CANDIOTTI: What do you feel about this man in Vermont who sent the e-mail? You've heard about the outcome of the investigation and what he had to say about it, and he did not want to press charges. But after all, it caused quite a stir, to say the least.

What do you feel about this man?

ROBINSON: Well, I'm terribly sorry that I may have done something that made him feel uncomfortable. Clearly, my behavior was not anything about being seductive or trying to approach him in any kind of inappropriate way. What he was alleging was that I laid a hand on his shoulder while I talked with him. And while that's not terribly serious, it apparently made him feel uncomfortable and I'm certainly sorry for that.

CANDIOTTI: Would you like to see the fact that you have now been ratified and you are an openly gay priest and now bishop, would you like to see this decision influence other faiths to take the same step, to be more open to this?

ROBINSON: I believe god is doing a new thing in terms of its inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the world and in the church. And the church includes all of those many other denominations. And I think that over a period of time, when people see that this is going to go well and our churches aren't going to fall down because there is a bishop who happens to be gay, others will follow suit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: It's a hot topic and you can hear more from the new bishop of New Hampshire at 7:30 Eastern time. Bishop Gene Robinson is a guest on AMERICAN MORNING and, of course, that starts at 7:00 this morning. That's Eastern time again.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





by Church Leaders>


Aired August 6, 2003 - 05:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Another controversy this morning, the Episcopal Church and its newly confirmed openly gay bishop.
Our Jeff Flock tells us how the confirmation of the Reverend Gene Robinson is being received by church leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The question is now what becomes of the U.S. Episcopal Church. Now, 62 of a little more than 100 bishops have voted to affirm V. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of the Episcopal faith, and, in fact, the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of any mainline Christian faith.

(voice-over): As we said, it was a fairly close vote. The election was delayed by a day when some eleventh hour allegations came to light. One allegation that Mr. Robinson, while a reverend, had inappropriately touched a parishioner. That allegation was investigated by the bishops. They found that the touch was, you know, done in a public place. He essentially put his arm around a man as he answered a question. They determined that not to be inappropriate and they went on with the vote, which now has, in some sense, ended up with the historic result, the first openly gay man to be elected bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The question is what happens to some of the parishioners who have felt very strongly against this action? Some say it's not a matter of them leaving the church, it is a matter of the church having left them.

This is Jeff Flock in Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And our Susan Candiotti sat down with the new bishop and he had this to say after the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BISHOP GENE ROBINSON, DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: It's been a long time in coming. It's not so much a dream as a calling from god and I'm really thrilled to be on my way to being the bishop of New Hampshire.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel as though you are now still in a firestorm? You have people now who are saying that you have, indeed, shattered the church and you will cause a divide that is irreparable, possibly.

ROBINSON: Time will tell. I firmly believe that we can hold together, as we have held together over many controversies in the Anglican Communion and in the Episcopal Church. And I am really confident that god will see us through.

CANDIOTTI: What does this ratification mean?

ROBINSON: Well, it means that gay and lesbian folk are welcomed into the church in a wholly new and more deeply felt way, that, indeed, we are able to exercise our ministries in leadership positions and I think we're on our way to being a real part of this church in a way that we've not been able to be for a while.

CANDIOTTI: What do you think of the last minute allegations that were made against you? And do you in any way believe that either one of them were part of, quite frankly, a smear campaign, or not?

ROBINSON: I think the timing was a bit curious. But these allegations are always serious when they are offered and I'm proud to be a part of a church that takes them seriously and, indeed, I was the person who helped set up the policies and procedures for dealing with such allegations on behalf of our dioceses in northern New England.

So it was a joy for me, really, although it was a very painful day. It was a joy for me to see that our process works.

CANDIOTTI: What do you feel about this man in Vermont who sent the e-mail? You've heard about the outcome of the investigation and what he had to say about it, and he did not want to press charges. But after all, it caused quite a stir, to say the least.

What do you feel about this man?

ROBINSON: Well, I'm terribly sorry that I may have done something that made him feel uncomfortable. Clearly, my behavior was not anything about being seductive or trying to approach him in any kind of inappropriate way. What he was alleging was that I laid a hand on his shoulder while I talked with him. And while that's not terribly serious, it apparently made him feel uncomfortable and I'm certainly sorry for that.

CANDIOTTI: Would you like to see the fact that you have now been ratified and you are an openly gay priest and now bishop, would you like to see this decision influence other faiths to take the same step, to be more open to this?

ROBINSON: I believe god is doing a new thing in terms of its inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the world and in the church. And the church includes all of those many other denominations. And I think that over a period of time, when people see that this is going to go well and our churches aren't going to fall down because there is a bishop who happens to be gay, others will follow suit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: It's a hot topic and you can hear more from the new bishop of New Hampshire at 7:30 Eastern time. Bishop Gene Robinson is a guest on AMERICAN MORNING and, of course, that starts at 7:00 this morning. That's Eastern time again.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





by Church Leaders>