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5:25 p.m. June 21, 2006 The General Convention of the Episcopal Church today passed a resolution "call(ing) upon Standing Committees and bishops with jurisdiction to exercise restraint by not consenting to the consecration of any candidate to the episcopate whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion." Bishop John Chane opposed the resolution. His attempt to remove the "manner of life" provision was defeated in the House of Bishops. Chane said he plans to “defy this resolution by consenting after prayer and careful consideration to the consecration of any person duly elected by a diocese in this church.” Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori supported the resolution saying it was "far from adequate," but "the best we are going to manage at this convention." She said she did not understand the resolution as "slamming the door on our gay brothers and sisters," and urged the convention to work towards their full inclusion. The resolution is not binding on bishops or standing committees, however it sends a clear signal of the Church's thinking. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury praised “the hard and devoted work” of the Convention, but said it was “not yet clear how far the resolutions passed this week and today represent the adoption by the Episcopal Church of all the proposals set out in the Windsor Report.” Williams said he would comment further, “in the next few days.” Both the lay and clerical deputations from the Diocese of Washington voted in favor of the resolution. Deputies said they were impressed by Jefferts Schori's willingness to spend political capital by taking a controversial stand that risked alienating many of her supporters so soon after her election. The resolution was also supported by Sally Johnson of Minnesota , a key liberal deputy who chairs the Canons Committee of the Convention. “This resolution tears me apart,” she said in a voice choked with emotion. “It goes against every ounce of my being, and as a gift to the Presiding-bishop elect, I think we should adopt it without amendment.” Louie Crew of the Diocese of Newark opposed the resolution, saying that by excluding gays and lesbians from the episcopate, the resolution was “cutting the tongue out of the Holy Spirit.” Several conservative deputies opposed the resolution because it did not meet the Windsor Report's request for moratoria on the consecration of gay bishops and the authorization of rites for same sex blessings. The resolution “was not in the ball park,' said the Rev. John Spencer of the Diocese of Quincy. “It is not even in the parking lot of that ball park.” Following its passage, the resolution was criticized by a group of about bishops on the left, including Bishop Chane, and a group of bishops affiliated with the conservative Anglican Communion Network. In a “Statement of Conscience,” the liberal bishops wrote: “We are absolutely committed to the future of this Communion and the process of healing the strain that we readily admit and regret exists, and has been exacerbated in our own house by events today. We must participate in this process with our own integrity intact and thus we are obliged to make this dissent. We intend to challenge the rest of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to honor the promise to include the voices of gay and lesbian in the conversations about the future of the Communion.” The conservative bishops “disassociated” themselves from the actions of the Convention that they believed unresponsive to the Windsor Report. “Pastoral care and apostolic teaching must not only be given to our own dioceses, but to all the faithful in this country who seek apostolic oversight and support. We will take counsel together to fulfill our service on behalf of faithful Anglicans in this country ... and we seek the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates and Bishops of the Anglican Communion as we do so.”
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