PITTSBURGH Episcopal group protests move

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- As a network for conservative Episcopalians opposed to gay clergy was winning support from overseas bishops, its leader came under new attack at home.
The Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes is headed by Bishop Robert Duncan of the Pittsburgh Diocese, whose council voted last week to join the new organization.
But Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh said last Friday that it "deplores" the diocese's network affiliation. The group supports the Episcopal Church's consecration of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who is openly gay.
The progressives said parishes should have been consulted further before the diocese decided to join protest network.
Duncan and diocesan leaders chose "a course that already has seriously wounded our church and threatens damage that may be irreparable," the progressive group said.
Overseas
The same day, overseas leaders claiming to represent more than half the members of the international Anglican Communion (in which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch) expressed full support for the conservative network and invited Americans to join it.
In other Episcopal dioceses, Southern Virginia established a "reconciliation commission" over the role of gays in the church. The Central Gulf Coast approved a policy that opposes both ordination of noncelibate clergy and blessing rites for same-sex couples.