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Vote on Gay Bishop Candidate Back on Track

Aired August 05, 2003 - 15:00   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.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: At this hour, an unprecedented vote by Episcopal Church leaders is back on track, a vote that could result in the church's first openly gay bishop. An investigation into allegations involving the Reverend Gene Robinson has now ended a day after it began.
CNN's Jeff Flock is at the meeting in Minneapolis.

Gene (sic), this investigation was dealt with very quickly.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Indeed, Judy.

It didn't take long, which suggests to some that perhaps the bishop-elect has been cleared of the allegations. We'll, of course, have to see, about a half hour away from the vote, which will take place in meeting rooms 101 F, G, and H here that are just off to my left. This is where the bishops have been holed up.

Bishop-elect Robinson himself showed up here about -- I guess about 45 minutes ago, and quite a scrum of reporters and cameras and the rest following him around. He made absolutely no comment at all about all of this. We, of course, have been poking around in terms of the allegations, the two: one, that he had ties to an organization that had a Web site that had links on it that linked it to another Web site that linked it to another Web site that had some pornographic material on it.

That was one of the allegations, the other that he inappropriately touched a Vermont parishioner, Episcopal parishioner. Again, we've been poking around with our own Maria Hinojosa in Vermont, as well as looking at other sources of information on that. The suggestion is that that touch was actually on the biceps, on the shoulder, on the back of this gentleman in a public place. So perhaps it may be reported that someone felt uncomfortable with that contact, but perhaps it didn't rise to the level of derailing his nomination.

Of course, Judy, that is what we're about to find out, again, a half an hour away. I don't how it's going to come out, but I can tell you this. The opposition, the bishops who have been on record as opposing Reverend Robinson's election to bishop, those folks have already made plans of what they're going to do if it comes for a vote and if he is, in fact, approved.

They will leave the convention. They will go across the street to the Lutheran church, have a prayer and a service and then meet with reporters over there. That is their plan. I don't know if that's a metaphor for what is to come to this church, moving across the Lutheran church, but I guess we'll see how it plays out.

That's the latest from Minneapolis -- Judy, back to you.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff, thank you very much. And I know you're going to be following that vote as it happens. Jeff Flock, thank you very much.

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 5, 2003 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: At this hour, an unprecedented vote by Episcopal Church leaders is back on track, a vote that could result in the church's first openly gay bishop. An investigation into allegations involving the Reverend Gene Robinson has now ended a day after it began.
CNN's Jeff Flock is at the meeting in Minneapolis.

Gene (sic), this investigation was dealt with very quickly.

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Indeed, Judy.

It didn't take long, which suggests to some that perhaps the bishop-elect has been cleared of the allegations. We'll, of course, have to see, about a half hour away from the vote, which will take place in meeting rooms 101 F, G, and H here that are just off to my left. This is where the bishops have been holed up.

Bishop-elect Robinson himself showed up here about -- I guess about 45 minutes ago, and quite a scrum of reporters and cameras and the rest following him around. He made absolutely no comment at all about all of this. We, of course, have been poking around in terms of the allegations, the two: one, that he had ties to an organization that had a Web site that had links on it that linked it to another Web site that linked it to another Web site that had some pornographic material on it.

That was one of the allegations, the other that he inappropriately touched a Vermont parishioner, Episcopal parishioner. Again, we've been poking around with our own Maria Hinojosa in Vermont, as well as looking at other sources of information on that. The suggestion is that that touch was actually on the biceps, on the shoulder, on the back of this gentleman in a public place. So perhaps it may be reported that someone felt uncomfortable with that contact, but perhaps it didn't rise to the level of derailing his nomination.

Of course, Judy, that is what we're about to find out, again, a half an hour away. I don't how it's going to come out, but I can tell you this. The opposition, the bishops who have been on record as opposing Reverend Robinson's election to bishop, those folks have already made plans of what they're going to do if it comes for a vote and if he is, in fact, approved.

They will leave the convention. They will go across the street to the Lutheran church, have a prayer and a service and then meet with reporters over there. That is their plan. I don't know if that's a metaphor for what is to come to this church, moving across the Lutheran church, but I guess we'll see how it plays out.

That's the latest from Minneapolis -- Judy, back to you.

WOODRUFF: All right, Jeff, thank you very much. And I know you're going to be following that vote as it happens. Jeff Flock, thank you very much.

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