JACKSONVILLE, Fla.  The Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine has reneged on an offer to Episcopal leaders to use their church for a bishop's installation because the Episcopalians' pro-homosexual leader was to officiate.
According to The Associated Press, the decision came after presiding bishop Frank Griswold defended his church's confirmation of an openly homosexual bishop in New Hampshire and argued in a news article that the Bible does not condemn same-sex relationships.
The Episcopal Diocese of Florida had planned to use St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Jacksonville for the installation of John Howard because there are no local Episcopal churches large enough for the expected crowd. In an ecumenical move, the Catholics invited them to use St. Josephs, the news service reported.
The Rev. Canon Ellis Brust of the Episcopal diocese said Bishop Stephen Jecko and Catholic Bishop Victor Galeone talked on Oct. 2 and Jecko hopes to resolve the issue before the Nov. 1 ceremony.
