From The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sunday, July 20, 1997
By Jim Jones
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth says he will defy a church law, given final approval yesterday at the Episcopal General Convention in Philadelphia, making it mandatory for him to accept women as priests.
The highly conservative bishop said he will instead continue with a compromise plan worked out earlier to allow female clergy to serve in the Diocese of Fort Worth under the direction of Dallas Bishop James Stanton.
"Technically, that doesn't fully comply with this canon," Iker said in a telephone interview from Philadelphia. "But at this point I've gone as far as I can go."
"I remain very hopeful the Diocese of Fort Worth stands behind me and will be supportive of the new direction we are taking with this agreement."
Although unhappy about the mandatory canon, Iker and other traditionalist were heartened yesterday when a proposal to bless same-sex marriages was narrowly defeated.
A proposal to develop a liturgy for same-sex unions failed in the church's House of Deputies, where priests and clergy vote separately. The priests approved the measure, 57-56, but a tie vote of 56-56 among lay delegates kept it from passing.
The Rev. Michael Hopkins of Integrity, a gay and lesbian Episcopal group with 50 chapters in the United States, told The Associated Press the close vote was positive and that the matter will come up again.
Resolutions to approve ordination of sexually active homosexuals will be considered later in the convention, which continues through Thursday.
Iker, one of four active bishops opposed to women priests, said he hopes his compromise plan to allow female clergy in the 23-county Fort Worth diocese will be acceptable.
Otherwise, a "presentment" could be filed against the 47-year-old bishop, possibly subjecting him to a church trial for failing to obey church laws.
The mandatory canon, he said, "gives a punitive weapon to those who want to oppress those with minority views on this issue."
Even though he is not technically complying with the mandatory canon, Iker said he may be protected by another approved resolution that safeguards the rights of those holding differing viewpoints on women's ordination.
Unsuccessful efforts were made during drafting of the mandatory canon to make Iker and other bishops opposed to women priest immune from prosecution by church courts.
The Fort Worth bishop believes that "radical feminists" influenced the uncompromising language of the canon.
"History teaches us the oppressed become the oppressors," he said. "Women felt they were oppressed in the church. Now they are getting the upper hand and want to turn the tables."
"In the heart of radical feminism, there is a lot of internal anger. I think we saw that here."
While Iker contends that he is being oppressd, advocates of women priests in the Diocese of Fort Worth see him and his predecessors as the oppressors.
"We've had a tyranny going on in the Diocese of Fort Worth for a long time," said Brenda Seaver of Fort Worth, President of the Council of the Laity, a local independent group that supports the national church's stand on women priests and other issues.
Among Iker's most persistent critics are members of the national Women's Caucus of the Episcopal Church.
Katie Sherrod of Fort Worth, a board member of the caucus, testified during hearings on the mandatory canon and said the Fort Worth diocese has waited long enough to accept women as priests. And she was critical of Iker's compromise plan to allow female clergy.
"It is unworkable and it still relegates women priests to sencond-class status in the Diocese of Fort Worth," Sherrod said last week.
Iker, however, has his backers on the compromise plan.
"I see this as an open door from the bishop," said the Rev. Sam McClain, rector of St. Luke Episcopal Church in Stephenville, who favors female clergy. "There still are some questions to be worked out but it opens up some real possibilities for women to serve as priests in our diocese."
The Rev. Terry Cairo, a female Episcopal priest who formerly lived in Fort Worth but was not allowed to serve as a priest, said last week that Iker's plan seems positive.
"If this is his plan, I applaud him," said Cairo, who now lives in Lafayette, Colo., and is a candidate for rector of a parish there.
"It looks like he's trying to do what the church has asked him to do."
A national church spokesman, Jim Solheim, said many believe that compromises like Iker's still do not reflect the canon.
"It does not change the situation in the Diocese of Fort Worth, because Bishop Iker still would not be accepting female clergy," said Solheim, who heads the church's news service. "It still does not satisfy the canon."
Even though the Episcopal Chruch has allowed women priests since 1976, a "conscience clause" approved two decades ago has allowed Iker and bishops from Eau Claire, Wis., Fresno, Calf., and Peoria, Ill., to prohibit female clergy.
Bishop Keith Ackerman of Peoria, a former pastor of St. Mark Episcopal Church in Arlington, is one of the four still prohibiting female clergy.
Conservative bishops support an all-male priesthood, partially because they interpret the Bible as stating that Jesus chose only males as apostles.
Iker said he won't leave the church and will continue to speak his views that the 2.1 million member denomination is being weakened by straying from its traditional teachings.
"We are not giving up. We are not giving in. And we are not going away," Iker said. "I sense a small group of bishops would like to see me go away. But I have no intention of relinquishing my church, which I love."
The Fort Worth diocese, under Iker and his predecessor, retired Bishop Clarence Pope, has become known as a bastion of conservatism. It is the center of a conservative movement that contends that the Episcopal Church has become too liberal and is moving away from its traditions.
Pope was the founding president of the Episcopal Synod of America, a conservative organization based in Fort Worth, which will meet in suburban Philadelphia after the general convention concludes.
Iker was narrowly ratified as a bishop four years ago because of his opposition to women priests and many publicly protested when he was consecrated at a Fort Worth church.
Although he has few allies in his opposition to female clergy, Iker has powerful allies in his opposition to ordaining gays and lesbians. He contends that the bishops who ordain noncelibate homosexuals are violating principles of the church.
Still, he hasn't had much success in stopping the gay and lesbian ordinations. Last year, Iker, Stanton and eight other bishops filed a presentment against Bishop Walter Righter for ordaining a homosexual in New Jersey. An ecclesiastical court aquitted Righter, saying the church had no specific law prohibiting gays and lesbians.
Despite the controversies, Iker says that his goal in the Diocese of Fort Worth is to promote unity. And he hopes the compromise plan to accept the female clergy will be the beginning of a new direction for the diocese.
"This is an imperfect church and this may be an imperfect resolution to the conflict over women clergy," Iker said. "But, I hope it moves us toward less dissension and less alienation."
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