CITATION for REALITY

To the Episcopal Church: Its College of Cardinals recently elected Katharine Jefferts Schori to be its Presiding Bishop. Bishop Schori is an extraordinary person, every bit appropriate by achievements and qualifications, but she is a woman. What church denomination has elected a woman to its highest position and thereby defied one of religion's centuries-old and most deeply ingrained prejudices?

Bishop Schori served in Oregon and has been the Bishop for four years of the Diocese of Nevada where she has noted for taking clear positions on casino-renowned Las Vegas and marriage-mill Reno. To function effienctly in a sparsely populated state, she flew herself from place to place. She is also science-literate, holds a Ph.D. degree in Marine Sciences from Stanford University, and therefore understands science and the mind of the rigorous researcher. Such clergy are in short supply, and their influences in religious settings are certainly needed.

The courage of the Episcopal Church is further exemplified by this audacious act so soon after having survived the controversy of electing a gay bishop.

What has been demonstrated so dramatically and clearly is the principle of inclusivity in a religious context when the centuries-old concept of exclusivity has permeated world religions and caused suffering and pain at incredible levels for centuries. We need so desperately to become inclusive in our acceptance of the diversities of people and cultures.