The election of a lesbian suffragan (assistant) bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles has unleashed the predictable firestorm of protest. Yet Mother Glasspool will be the second out-of-the-closet and partnered homosexual bishop—and surely the second in this case will be much less consequential than the first. In other words, the gay flag has already been flown.
Granted, there are two differences in the situation now. First, the Bishop of Los Angeles has launched a pre-emptive strike against anyone who would dare to oppose this election—including standing committees of the various American dioceses who must assent to the election for it to be valid. Bishop Jon Bruno has said he will file presentments against them—a kind of legal lawsuit—should they dare to challenge what he believes has become the new dogma in the Episcopal Church.
Second, if these committees consent, they will know how much their action will be resented in many quarters in the Anglican Communion. When Bishop Gene Robinson was confirmed in 2003, many of us thought the storm would blow over quickly. After all, there have long been practicing homosexual bishops in the Anglican Communion. Now we know that being public with one’s sexual preference and life causes scandal worldwide.
Nevertheless, while I resent the arrogant, in-your-face attitude of Bishop Bruno and other partisans of immediate change, I can’t see that the election of Mother Glasspool will make much difference, one way or the other. It was Bishop Robinson who broke through the barrier; the protest after his election notwithstanding, there is no barrier left for gay bishops in America. –J. Douglas Ousley
