Nancy Haught of the Portland Oregonian talks with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori:
Q: When you were elected presiding bishop, you talked about leading a research team on a ship where the crew wasn’t excited about women in authority. What’s it been like to be leader of the Episcopal Church?
A: There are — or were — three dioceses with bishops who didn’t believe in the ordination of women. Those dioceses are recovering now and excited to have women as priests. There are some parts of the communion that don’t ordain women at all, as priests or as bishops. But we’re all in conversation.
Q: Can you still make a case for holding together so many different points of view? So often these days, unity means being of like minds.
A: We see it as part of the Anglican charism; we see it as a good thing because it is creative. If you dissolve the ties with those who don’t agree with you, you lose the gifts of those who drive you crazy. The opposite of love is not hate; it’s apathy.