Methodist High Court Rejects First Openly Gay Bishop’s Consecration
The New York Times’s Laurie Goodstein reports, “The United Methodist Church’s highest court has ruled that the consecration of its first openly gay bishop violated church law, compounding a bitter rift over homosexuality that has brought the 13-million-member denomination to the brink of schism.” The church’s Judicial Council, which announced the 6-to-3 vote on Friday, maintains that Bishop Karen P. Oliveto of Denver, who was elected last summer, “remains in good standing.” Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops, said, “This ruling really does nothing to resolve the tension and impatience and anxiety in our system. It’s not clear-cut enough.”