''I can't tell you how, but we all came together on this one,'' says Frade, who attended the New Orleans assembly. In the end, the vast majority of the bishops . . . voted for the statement that we presented to the church's 38 primates.''

Still, not all South Florida Episcopal clergy agree that the statement and concessions healed the rift or that it eliminates the possibility of a future church split.

''It is wonderful news that the Episcopal Church in the United States remains intact. But to me it was sort of like putting a Band-Aid on the sun,'' says Father Orlando Addison, rector of St. James in the Hills Episcopal Church in Hollywood.

``It just wasn't enough. The truth is the bishops and priests on either side of this issue are no closer to agreeing. This statement simply puts things off till the next general assembly of the church in 2009.

``Hopefully then we can come to a resolution. But I fear we won't, and the church will split.''

That fear received a small boost Friday when Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, unsatisfied with the New Orleans compromise, announced he wanted to form a splinter church.

The problem, Addison says, is that both sides disagree on how literally to take the Bible, which some conservative clergy say condemns homosexuality.

''On a personal level, I believe all people should have the rights to the same social and financial benefits,'' Addison says. ``But to the issue of homosexuality, I'm sorry. But those rights should not alter how the church is run.''

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • Sept07 HoB Meeting

1. Jim the Puritan wrote: “Putting a Band-Aid on the sun” or “putting a Band-Aid on the sin”? September 29, 4:42 pm | [comment link]

2. Craig Goodrich wrote: ... the Bible, which some conservative clergy say condemns homosexuality. OK, yeah, just a couple of those crazy televangelists in the South… Sometimes the slant of the MSM is just too funny.  Perhaps instead of “do animals have souls?” we should be asking “do reporters have brains?” September 29, 5:34 pm | [comment link]

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