Catholics, Episcopalians at odds.

Months after the Episcopal Church elected its first actively gay bishop, Gene Robinson, the dust has yet to settle. In the U.S., Catholic Bishop Victor Galeone of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida rescinded an invitation made to Florida's Episcopal diocese to hold the consecration of its new bishop at a Catholic church because the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, who was scheduled to officiate at the ceremony, made a statement in support of the confirmation of the homosexual bishop. In an Associated Press interview, Griswold commented that the Bible mentions only "discrete acts of homosexuality" and does not address the contemporary situation of committed same-sex relationships.

Galeone, who had originally offered the use of a Catholic parish because none of the local Episcopal churches are large enough to house the event, said in a statement, "Many of my people would be deeply offended to learn that an Episcopal bishop who holds a position radically opposed to what both the Catholic Church and scripture teach about homosexuality is using one of our facilities." He said the event could not take place at the Catholic church if Griswold was officiating.

On the global scene, Pope John Paul II met with Rowan Williams, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, and said that "new and serious difficulties have arisen on the path to unity" between Roman Catholics and the Anglican Communion. On Vatican Radio, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, referred directly to the Episcopalians' ordination of practicing homosexual priests saying, "I expressed my concern because it is not only an internal problem to the Anglican Communion, but also a problem that affects our relations."