Episcopalians: 'Restraint' on gay bishops

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Bishops of the U.S. Episcopal Church approved a document Tuesday that promises “to exercise restraint” in the consecration of gay bishops.

The bishops, meeting in New Orleans, did not approve a ban on the formal blessing of same-sex relationships, the Chicago Tribune reported. Church leaders said the church has no formal ceremony for gay unions and does not plan to adopt one in the near future.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said the document succeeded in finding “common ground“ as the church and the Anglican Communion struggles with the issue of homosexuality.

"Not everyone was 100 percent happy with every word in this document, as you might imagine, but together we believe that we have found a place that all of us can stand together," she said.

But conservative Episcopalians have not been appeased.

Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan Jr. called the document “the same stuff.” Duncan is hosting a meeting of conservative bishops.

"The American church is moving in one direction," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "The Western church is moving in one direction. The classic church stands where it has always stood.”