After a June 9 meeting to clarify appropriate sexual boundaries for clergy in the Diocese of Colorado, confusion has begun to give way to indignation over what appears to be two sets of rules: an unwritten one for sexually active homosexual persons and an official written one which requires faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in all other circumstances for everyone else.

The meeting was arranged in order to explain the six-week paid leave of absence that the Rev. Bonnie Spencer received as punishment for defying the Rt. Rev. Robert J. O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, on April 24 when she “made promises and exchanged rings” with Catherine Anderson, the widow of a Colorado Episcopal priest [TLC, June 20]. Although supportive of normalizing homosexual behavior within the Episcopal Church, Bishop O’Neill had denied permission for the ceremony to proceed because of “the current climate.”

At the meeting Bishop O’Neill revealed that 11 same-sex blessing ceremonies had been performed since his predecessor, the Rt. Rev. Jerry Winterrowd, was consecrated in 1991, and also according to some accounts that nine “partnered same-sex clergy in good standing” were canonically resident within the diocese.

In a public letter dated June 15, the Rev. Ephraim Radner, rector of Ascension and Holy Trinity, Pueblo, said he and many other clergy had heard rumors but were never informed of what he described as a “secret protocol” and he called on Bishop O’Neill to make details of the practice available to all. “Until they are published and made available ... the characterization of ‘secret protocol’ strikes me as rather precise,” Fr. Radner wrote later.

In a written response to a series of questions submitted by The Living Church, Bishop O’Neill acknowledged that diocesan practice had varied since a 1994 policy was worked out between Bishop Winterrowd and diocesan clergy, but that the deviation was “considered to be common knowledge among the clergy of the diocese.” The 1994 policy permitted brief prayers for same-sex couples within the context of the Prayers of the People during Rite II Holy Eucharist, but the prayers should in no way resemble a marriage ceremony.

The 1994 diocesan agreement was based on trust and accurately reflected the majority theological position on sexuality within the diocese at that time, according to Bishop Winterrowd.

“I made a decision that it was not my responsibility to be a policeman,” he said. “I trusted the clergy and for the most part the policy worked well. If some clergy broke that trust, that’s a burden they will have to bear.”