"I don't think we have to go there," she said. "I don't have the expectation that provinces and diocese elsewhere must ordain women and gays. I don't have the need that they do that in order to be satisfactory to me.

"But they do have that need and expectation" of uniformity, she said, "and they pin it all on their reading of scripture, which is really not our reading of scripture.

"Why aren't they quoting 'love thy neighbor?' " she asked of the literal vs. scholarly scriptural arguments. "If you get into that, you'll never come to an end of it. The Bible will let you do anything if you look only at one verse."

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold of the U.S. church responded to the report by saying he is "obliged to affirm the presence and positive contribution of gay and lesbian persons to every aspect of the life of our church and in all order of ministry."

Both he and Bishop Irish noted that in American society — unlike many other nations — homosexuality is not only openly discussed but "increasingly acknowledged in all areas of our public life."

Bishop Irish acknowledged she voted against the blessing of same-sex unions in a conference of Anglican bishops in 1998, despite pressure to do otherwise, because she believed then that "through conversation and education we could reach a place of agreement. But I don't think that's going to happen now. I've learned a great deal about the power of fear and cultural differences."

The fact that such issues have been under discussion for decades means the U.S. church has "evolved not only around our understanding of homosexuality and inclusivity but the years and years it's taken us to do this is an indication of how much we wanted to act together," she said.

"We had patience. We didn't just hop off into something rash."

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E-mail: carrie@desnews.com