The United Methodist Church, however, has remained firm in upholding its traditional stance that homosexual practice "is incompatible with Christian teaching." In a decision released this week, the Judicial Council, the church's highest court, struck down a resolution from the Baltimore-Washington Annual (regional) Conference that said the church is divided on the issue.

This is possible, he added, as "for a millennium Christians were united by the fraternal communion of faith and sacramental life, the See of Rome being, by common consent, the moderator when disagreements arose among them on matters of faith or discipline." John Paul II himself invited both sides to seek "naturally together, the ways with which this ministry can carry out a service of faith and love recognized by one another."

Still working

The questions and overall breakdown of responses are as follows:

"Please tell me whether you agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with each of the following statements? Do you agree or disagree. And is that strongly or just somewhat."

1. Viewing hardcore adult pornography on the Internet is morally acceptable

6%--Strongly agree 9%--Somewhat agree 13%--Somewhat disagree 63%--Strongly disagree 9%--Don't know

John Shelby Spong's new manifesto is a sign of the times. For the past three decades, Bishop Spong has staked out a theological position that is so far outside the realm of Christian orthodoxy that it defies description. In a succession of notorious publications, Spong has denied virtually every conceivable doctrine and has embraced almost every imaginable heresy.