Episcopal Bishop, Troubled By Church’s Direction, Wants To Resign

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande is asking the House of Bishops to allow him to resign, and an Episcopalian publication said he will become a Roman Catholic.

The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson said in a Sept. 21 letter to clergy that his conscience is “deeply troubled about where the Episcopal Church is heading.” “This has become a crisis for me because of my ordination vow to uphold its doctrine, discipline and worship,” he wrote. In an upcoming interview in The Living Church, a weekly magazine that presents news of the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican community, Steenson said the Lord calls him to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Living Church quoted Steenson as saying, “It amazes me, after all of these years, what a radical journey of faith this must necessarily be. To some it seems foolish; to others disloyal; to others an abandonment.” In the letter to clergy, Steenson described the Catholic Church as the “true home of Anglicanism.” He wrote that if he receives consent from the House of Bishops, now meeting in New Orleans, he would step down at the end of the year. The Living Church said Steenson then hoped to be released from his ordination vows in the Episcopal Church.

Steenson was consecrated a bishop in January 2005. Before that, he was canon to the ordinary under Bishop Terence Kelshaw for five years. The Diocese of the Rio Grande covers New Mexico and part of West Texas. As of February, it had about 12,000 members. Months after his consecration, Steenson became one of 19 U.S. bishops to write to the archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Anglican Communion, and the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, expressing concern over declining attendance and the church’s ordination of a gay man as the bishop of New Hampshire.

Steenson told The Living Church he was disturbed when a majority of the bishops at a meeting in March said the Episcopal Church was “fundamentally autonomous and local.” “That is not the Anglicanism in which I was informed,” Steenson said. The Living Church is published by The Living Church Foundation, which promotes and supports orthodox Anglicanism within the life of the Episcopal Church. Steenson also said he would discuss his decision further with clergy from the diocese when they meet later this week in Las Cruces and will write a pastoral letter to all Episcopalians in a few days.

Brian Taylor, rector of St. Michael’s & All Angels Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, said Steenson has consistently said the Episcopal Church should not bless gay relationships without the consensus of the worldwide church. “Those of us who know the bishop and had heard him speak knew that this was probably going to come eventually,” Taylor said. Steenson had pledged to build bridges within the church when he was elected bishop. “I will endeavor to hold this diocese together, as divorce is not an appropriate path for any Christian family,” he said at the time.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)