The Episcopal Diocese of California selects a new bishop, bypassing three gay candidates. The potential election of a second gay U.S. bishop was viewed as a threat to the unity of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
HOWARD BERKES, host: In San Francisco today, lay people and clergy from the Episcopal Church met to elect the next bishop for the Bay area. Among the seven candidates were three openly gay clergy. The election has drawn worldwide attention, because the appointment of a second homosexual bishop in the American Episcopal Church threatens to split the parent body, the Anglican Communion. Reporter Marjorie Sun has been at the San Francisco convention and she joins me now.</s>HOWARD BERKES, host: Marjorie, I understand the voting has just been completed, who was elected?</s>MARJORIE SUN reporting: They elected the Reverend Mark Andrus. He's a straight male from the Diocese of Alabama. He's already a bishop, an associate bishop. He was the highest ranking clergy among the seven candidates.</s>HOWARD BERKES, host: And the Reverend Andrus, any particular reason you believe that he was the one who was chosen?</s>SUN: Well, he is more of the same in that he is straight and male. He's also, he gets to wear the purple shirt because he is already a bishop, so he brings that seniority to the position. The others were solid in their leadership skills as well. There was one candidate actually from the National Cathedral. But it's interesting that none of the gay candidates got a significant number of votes. From the first ballot, the highest vote among the clergy voting was about 20 percent.</s>HOWARD BERKES, host: And why do you think that is? Given the controversy over whether there would be a gay bishop or not, why do you think that the gay candidates didn't attract much support?</s>SUN: Well, two women that I talked to who were lay representatives of their Martinez parishes said to me that sexuality did factor into their vote, that they didn't want to add more controversy to the Episcopal Church or to the Worldwide Anglican Communion. Another man that I talked to who was a lay representative said that to him, to have a gay representative as Bishop would have been against his belief, but it looks as though, from the votes, that it wasn't a factor, that sexuality was not a major factor for most of the delegates in the lay vote and in the clergy vote.</s>HOWARD BERKES, host: Well, quickly, that's something the rest of us focused on. What is at stake for this election in California and the church there?</s>SUN: Well, what's at stake for the local diocese is that there are churches that are dwindling in membership, there are needs for a few more churches to consolidate, and there are fundraising needs, and I think people were concentrating on the credentials of the candidates and not their sexuality to meet those local needs.</s>HOWARD BERKES, host: Thank you, Marjorie. Reporter Marjorie Sun joined us from San Francisco.