PITTSBURGH  Resolutions that could enable the 20,000-member Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh to separate from the national church were mailed to clergy and lay deputies to vote on at a special diocesan convention in September.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the six sweeping resolutions were developed by Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. and other diocese officials in response to the Episcopal Church USA's recent confirmation of an openly homosexual bishop and its approval of same-sex unions.
"This is a radical proposal, but this is a radical time in our life. There are two realities here and, really, two churches," Duncan said. "We've got to give freedom to people."
Duncan and 19 other bishops declared a "pastoral emergency" in the Episcopal Church during the denomination's triennial convention following the House of Bishops' confirmation of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the new bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson, a divorced father of two, has lived openly in a homosexual relationship for the past 13 years.
Among other things, the resolutions would regard Robinson's confirmation and recognizing same-sex unions unconstitutional; allow conservative parishes and clergy to align themselves "across existing diocesan boundaries" with likeminded Episcopalians; cut off funding to the national church; and give individual parishes control over property.
