Local pastors who oppose Cleveland’s domestic-partner registry, recently enacted by the city council, are guilty of selective reading of the Bible, according to the Bishop of Ohio, the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth.
 
Bishop Hollingsworth and three assisting bishops in the diocese wrote to commend the council Jan. 21, contending that passage of the registry witnessed to the Judeo-Christian mandate to love one another.
 
“Your action gives comfort, support, and affirmation to all those among us who are committed to sharing responsibility for one another’s personal welfare,” the bishops wrote. “As well, it insists that all men and women are equal in the sight of God.”
 
The bishops decried clergy who have tried to organize a vote referendum on the registry.
 
“While we affirm the right of any person in our democratic society to oppose the establishment of this registry, we are dismayed that clergy and others would use the Bible as their weapon of assault,” the bishops wrote. “We are especially concerned that they would lift verses out of context much the same way that some Christians in a previous era selected verses to bolster their views in support of slavery, segregation, and the oppression of women.”
 
Signing with Bishop Hollingsworth were the Rt. Rev. David C. Bowman, Bishop of Western New York from 1987-1998; the Rt. Rev. William D. Persell, Bishop of Chicago from 1999-2009; and the Rt. Rev. Arthur B. Williams, Jr., Bishop suffragan of Ohio from 1986-2002.
 
In a recent interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Rev. C. Jay Matthews, pastor of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, and leader of the clergy coalition opposing the domestic-partner registry, said the registry is an attempt to circumvent the 2004 constitutional amendment prohibiting state recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions. The city council contended that the registry would cultivate a gay-friendly image for Cleveland and perhaps help domestic partners obtain benefits, such as health care, typically reserved for married couples. Registering would not guarantee any rights or mean a couple is legally married, however.
 
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