Bishops back Allin's right to dissent

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• Washington Post

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. The Episcopal House of Bishops yesterday upheld the right of the church's top official to continue in office even though he dissents from and will not participate in implementing the official church policy to ordain women into the priesthood.

Presiding Bishop John M. Allin had offered Friday night to resign if his fellow bishops thought he should because, he said, he is “unconvinced that women can be priests."

Formal action on question relating to the continuing controversy over women priests will not be taken by the bishops gathered here for their annual meeting until next week, but the presiding bishop's right to dissent from church policy was strongly upheld yesterday.

In addition to asserting their support for Bishop Allin, the bishops agreed to formalize a "conscience cause," that would formally exempt. any bishop who conscientiously objects to ordaining women. It would also permit a bishop to bar from his diocese any woman already ordained.

The mood of the bishops, who a year ago voted 95 to 61 in favor of ordaining women, appears to be making the issue of women's role in the church a hostage to their concern for unity in the church.

Two weeks ago, some 1,800 dissidents met in

St. Louis to consider splitting from the 2.9 millionmember U.S. Episcopal Church. However, only about 300 of the delegates to the St. Louis meeting have formally indicated their intention to leave the church, a spokesman for the dissidents said last week.

Nevertheless, the threatened split has figured prominently in discussions here. Disagreement over ordaining women is one of the main bones of contention of the dissidents.

In the Episcopal church, a presiding bishop traditionally plays the key role in consecrating any new bishop. Bishop Allin said that, if a . diocese should elect a woman priest to be a bishop, in the future, he would refuse to take part in

the consecration but "I wouldn't stand in the way of it.... I'd ask someone else to do the consecrating."

On another controversial issue, the bishops set the state for a possible censure of Bishop Pau. Moore Jr., of New York, for ordaining an avowed homosexual woman to the priesthood.

Bishop Moore's ordination last Jan. 10 of the Rev. Ellen Barrett has generated cries of outrage throughout the church.

"The bishops have received more hostility over this issue than any other issue in recent years, including the Vietnam war," reported Bish op J. Brooke Mosley. "They have never seen or felt more fury," he added.