Nuns Defect Over Gay Acceptance

Ten members of an order of nuns affiliated with the Episcopal Church have left that denomination over its acceptance of gays and joined the Roman Catholic Church.

The nuns, members of All Saints Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville, Md., officially converted to Catholicism last week, Religion News Service reports. Mother Christina Christie, the order's superior, told The Baltimore Sun that the Episcopal Church is "way off the boat" because it allows openly gay bishops and blesses same-sex relationships. The nuns had been considering conversion for seven years, she said. "We were drifting farther apart from the more liberal road the Episcopal Church is traveling," Christie said. The Episcopal Church named Gene Robinson, an out gay man, bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 and remains open to other such appointments.

The order's chaplain, the Reverend Warren Tanghe, also converted to Catholicism. The nuns who converted will continue to live at their convent in Catonsville along with two sisters who did not convert.

Baltimore Catholic archbishop Edwin O'Brien issued a statement saying, "Our archdiocese and our church's mission of caring for the poor are now greatly enriched for having the All Saints Sisters among us." Eugene Sutton, the Episcopal bishop of Maryland, also issued a statement, saying, "Despite the sadness we feel in having to say farewell, our mutual joy is that we remain as one spiritual family of faith, one body in Christ."