by MATTHEW HAYS

Unlike most people who are about to become bishops, Gene Robinson had to wear a bulletproof vest to his consecration. The move came after Robinson became the first openly gay man to be elected by his New Hampshire diocese to the position.

It was an honour, and one Robinson says now that he felt ready for. But little prepared Robinson and his close friends and family for what followed, which was a firestorm of controversy over how a gay man could also hold such a high position in the church. Conservatives argued it would almost certainly cause a schism within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. There was a last-minute smear campaign consisting of allegations of inappropriate touching by one male member of the congregation (the charges were completely dismissed after an investigation). And there were the death threats (these Christians appear to have missed the thou-shalt-not-kill Biblical clause), thus the bulletproof vest.

But Robinson says he doesn’t regret it for a moment, given the hope he’s brought to so many around the world. And while the religious right hasn’t liked what he stands for, others have, indicating just how divided his native America is. In 2003 he was named The Advocate’s man of the year. He is also the subject of Montreal author Elizabeth Adams’ new book, Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson (Soft Skull Press; pb; $14.95). Robinson paused to speak to the Mirror before his speaking engagement at the inaugural edition of the Outgames.

Mirror: When did it first strike you that you might become a bishop?

Bishop Gene Robinson: I felt pursued by God about that. I’m not stupid, and I knew that if such a thing came to pass, that it would be controversial. But I don’t think any of us actually thought it would be this controversial. I struggled with that for a long while before I was ever nominated. Many were quite open about not wanting to bring down the wrath of others by nominating me. But then I really felt the calling.

M: But you underestimated the extent of the controversy…

BGR: I don’t think that the people who elected me, nor me, thought that extreme conservatives in our church would seize on this as a sort of defining issue. I think they wanted to have this split long before I became a bishop.

A place in the church

M: I find the media images of your case were important for a number of reasons, but I think something they did was to point out that indeed there are gay people who are religious, in this case, gay and Christian. I think a lot of gays feel there is no place for them in the church.

BGR: Exactly right. I think that for an awful lot of people, gay Christian was an oxymoron. People just couldn’t see how you could put those things together. But gays and lesbians have been a part of the church for years. Mainly they have just been silent. Now it’s on a lot of people’s minds. It’s caused a lot of controversy, but I think it’s also causing a lot of self-reflection in the church. It’s getting a lot of people to think about this issue.

M: There was talk of hope that the Anglican and Catholic churches might actually be brought closer together. Do you think your consecration as Bishop pushes those churches further apart?

BGR: I think that the hierarchy of both churches would like us to believe that. But that’s a red herring. Our churches aren’t anywhere near coming together. After all, it’s amusing to me that the Archbishop of Canterbury can meet up with the Pope, but neither seems to acknowledge that the Pope doesn’t recognize the ordination of the Archbishop of Canterbury. To state, as the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope did, after their meeting in Rome, that my consecration somehow kept this great reunion from happening, was really stretching it. There was no great reunion about to happen. The conversation between our churches will continue, and I hope that it does. Because we need to talk. The issues dividing us, around whether or not our orders are valid, or the ordination of women, those are things we have to get to long before we can get to my consecration.

Republicans and religion

M: We’ve already got same-sex marriage here, as you know, though our new Conservative government wants to revisit the issue in the fall. But now more than 70 per cent of Canadians polled say they do not want to revisit the issue. There seems to be a very different attitude in Canada, and it seems to have a lot to do with religion.

BGR: I think the biggest difference is the lack of an organized religious right. Our religious right is so identified with a single party. So you have this kind of double whammy. Frankly, what I’ve been saying to our clergy is that I think the best way our church can be involved in the debate over same-sex marriage is to explain that there are two things going on here: one is the civil right to marriage, and the other is the religious rite of the blessing of such a marriage. In France, everyone gets married at the mayor’s office. Those who are religious go to church and get them blessed. If we can separate the civil right from the religious rite, I think we can get a lot more support for this. Then we can say to churches that they don’t necessarily have to give their blessing to this. We all believe in fairness for all the citizens. I think making that separation would be helpful. And it’s very confusing in the U.S., because the clergy act as agents of the state in marrying people, so it’s become very confused in people’s minds. What I’ve learned with all these debates is that you make a step forward and inevitably you end up taking a few steps back. It’s just the way things move forward. People get fearful and they lose their nerve and then they back up again. But we’ll catch our breath and move forward.

Support from Tutu

M: Okay, so there’ve been death threats and a smear campaign against you. But there must have been good points in all of this too. What has been the best part of this for you?

BGR: The very best part of this, is that I don’t know when I’ve felt closer to God. I’m not saying that I perfectly understand God’s will, or that I know what God’s thinking. But God has seemed palpably closer to me during this last three years. I am thoroughly convinced that God is with us, and that has been a great privilege. The other reward has been the kind of hope that I’ve seen it bring to so many people, people who live in places and work in institutions that are not affirming. I think giving people hope is a wonderful thing.

M: With all of the talk about how much hostility there was towards your consecration in developing nations, I was heartened to read that Bishop Desmond Tutu had said some very supportive things. He said he didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.

BGR: Absolutely. He has been quite outspoken about it. You never hear about it, but there is all sorts of support beyond the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. While some bishops don’t want to speak up and contradict their archbishops, many will tell you quietly that to them this really isn’t a big issue, and that they’ve got much bigger concerns. They think it’s time we focused on those things and not this.

As part of the Outgames: International Conference on LGBT Human Rights, Bishop Gene Robinson will speak on a panel focusing on Canada and the U.S., on Thursday, July 27, at 9 a.m., along with Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewksbury, author Irshad Manji and NOW President Kim Gandy. Info: www.montreal2006.org. Christ Church Cathedral will be hosting a worship service at 7 p.m. on July 27, titled OutMass: Celebrating Diversity, where Bishop Robinson will be speaking