Yellowknife (Aug 15/03) - Episcopalians in the United States made a mistake by electing an openly gay bishop, said the regional head of the Anglican Church in the NWT.

"What happened down there went against the policies of the Church," said Bishop Larry Robertson of the Diocese of the Western Arctic based in Inuvik

"Homosexuality is not an acceptable practice according to the scripture."

Robertson was reacting to last week's decision by the Episcopal Church -- the American wing of the Anglican Church -- to elect Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire.

Robinson, who has lived with a male lover for the last 13 years, is widely believed to be the first openly gay bishop in the 2,000 year history of the Christian Church.

His election has touched off a firestorm of controversy within the 77-million worldwide member Anglican community.

Conservatives say Robinson's appointment contravenes a 1998 church edict which characterized homosexuality as "incompatible with the Scripture".

Robertson supported that position. "There are policies in place that need to be followed. We can't just ignore them," he said. "This doesn't mean that (homosexuals) are bad or can't be a part of the church," he added.

"Simply the act is not in agreement with the scriptures. Actually, the scriptures prohibit a lot of things."

Robertson said he supported the election of homosexual bishops so long as they remained celibate.

"That would be alright," he said. Robinson's election has been compared to the controversy surrounding the appointment of female Anglican bishops 27 years ago.

But Robertson thinks this situation is more problematic.

"It's easy to discuss matters of protocol and so on, but ... this issue could be more divisive," he said.

"It's always harder when you're dealing with issues of morality." Robertson says if nothing else, the controversy will spark a frank discussion within the church.

"We need to be open to change," said Robertson.

"We need to remember that we're all God's children and try to understand each other."

The spiritual head of the Anglican Church -- Rowan Williams, the Bishop of Canterbury -- has called for a summit on the issue next month.

But unlike the Pope, Williams doesn't have the authority to set doctrine for the entire Anglican Church.

Robertson says the Diocese of the Western Arctic will follow the lead of the Canadian Anglican Church when it comes to setting policies on homosexual reverends and bishops.

"We'll wait to see what the national church does before making any decisions," he said.

Robertson didn't know what the outcome of those policy discussions would be.

"I'm not sure what the future will hold."