RIVERSIDE, Calif., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Saturday elected a lesbian bishop, church leaders said.
The Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool is the first openly gay Episcopal bishop since the national church lifted a ban on gays and lesbians from the church's clerical hierarchy, the Los Angeles Times reported. The only other openly gay bishop is the Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson, elected in 2003
Glasspool, 55, who has been in a committed relationship with another woman since 1988, joined the Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce, 53, in becoming the first women bishops in the diocese's 114-year history. Bruce was elected Friday.
Another gay candidate, the Rev. John L. Kirkley of San Francisco, withdrew late Friday, the Times said.
The issue of gays in the upper echelons of the church's clergy has seriously strained the Episcopal Church and the rest of the world's Anglican Communion. Some parishes have left the U.S. group, aligning themselves with conservative Anglican bishops in Africa and South America.
The Anglican Communion's spiritual leader, the archbishop of Canterbury, had sought to convince the American church not to increase the risk of a schism.
"I don't think it's a referendum on electing a woman or a gay person," said the Very Rev. Mark Kowalewski, dean of St. John's Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles. "Those are secondary characteristics."
