CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
The second-highest-ranking official in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida has resigned over a rift developing between the local diocese and the national church regarding the ordination of gays. The Reverend Ernest Bennett circulated an E-mail to other ministers in the diocese on Tuesday citing his "deepest pain" over the direction he believes the diocese is heading. Delegates at the diocese's convention last weekend deleted the words "Episcopal Church" from a resolution pledging diocesan unity with the worldwide Anglican Communion and the See of Canterbury. The revised resolution was in response to national Episcopal leaders' vote last month confirming the election of the Reverend Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the church's first openly gay bishop. As a delegate to the national convention, Bennett voted against Robinson's confirmation and a resolution reading that same-sex blessing ceremonies are consistent with church teachings. But he said the vote last weekend in Orlando takes the diocese "to a place I cannot go.... I am a priest in the Episcopal Church, and I intend to stay," he said. Bishop John Howe acknowledged that Bennett's departure is a sign of strong differences within the diocese. Neither he nor the diocese have any intention of leaving the Episcopal Church, Howe said. "There is division throughout the whole church, that's the problem," Howe said.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
Louisiana Medicaid quietly stops reimbursing patients for gender-affirming care
July 11 2025 3:35 PM
Harvard seemingly caves to Trump, shuts down LGBTQ+ and women's center websites
July 11 2025 3:08 PM
11 lesbian & sapphic reality dating shows & where to watch them
July 11 2025 12:49 PM
Yes, Superman is an immigrant. He's also a gay icon.
July 11 2025 12:31 PM
15 best LGBTQ-friendly all-inclusive resorts for honeymoons
July 11 2025 12:29 PM
Trump's DOJ subpoenas doctors and medical clinics that care for transgender youth
July 11 2025 9:36 AM
True
After trans people, Trump now erases bisexual people from Stonewall National Monument
July 10 2025 10:45 PM
Black trans woman Dream Johnson killed in Washington, D.C.
July 10 2025 7:59 PM