The consecration of Canon V. Gene Robinson as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire has opened a significant breach in the ecumenical work of the worldwide Church. In a report submitted to the Lambeth Commission, a team of Anglican and Roman Catholic scholars questions how the people in the diocese who elected the New Hampshire bishop can claim to uphold Christian tradition and morals when the overwhelming majority of the Church disagrees with them.

The report was commissioned after General Convention last summer by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. According to Catholic News Service, the two asked the task force to address how the November 2003 consecration of a sexually active homosexual person as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire should be seen in light of joint Anglican-Roman Catholic statements on the structure of the Church, on authority and ministry within the Church, and on Christian morality.

The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, presented the report to the commission toward the end of June.

Anglicans and Roman Catholics have been called to give shared witness through the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), the scholars state. “Recent developments, however, call into question the extent to which we in fact share a moral vision,” they said.

“While in recent times differing interpretations of scripture have emerged with regard to the issue of homosexuality, the traditional teaching continues to be upheld by our two communions. In this context should there not be restraint within Anglican provinces while together in the communion of the church we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding issues facing us?”

The report suggested that the controversy points to the need for some method to ensure that the autonomy of individual Anglican provinces does not lead to decisions that break the bonds of communion.