You are here
Gay bishop admits he is being treated for alcoholism
By Harry Mount in New York (Filed: 15/02/2006)
The Telegraph
The Bishop of New Hampshire, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican communion, has admitted that he is undergoing treatment for alcoholism.
The Right Rev Gene Robinson, 58, caused a storm of protest when he became a bishop in 2003 despite openly living with a male partner.
The bishop, who is divorced with two daughters and a granddaughter, admitted to undergoing unsuccessful therapy to rid himself of homosexual thoughts.
Right Rev. V. Gene Robinson
He checked himself into an alcoholism clinic at the beginning of this month and is due to stay there for four weeks.
The bishop issued a resolutely upbeat statement, describing alcoholism as a "disease" not a sign of weak will and, in a comment likely to provoke his critics, compared his period of rehabilitation to the Resurrection.
"With the encouragement and support of my partner, daughters and colleagues, I checked myself in to deal with my increasing dependence on alcohol," the bishop wrote in an open letter from the clinic to Christians in his diocese.
"I will be dealing with the disease of alcoholism which, for years, I have thought of as a failure of will or discipline on my part, rather than a disease over which my particular body simply has no control, except to stop drinking altogether.
"During my first week here, I have learned so much. The extraordinary experience of community here will inform my ministry for years to come. I eagerly look forward to continuing my recovery in your midst. Once again, God is proving His desire and ability to bring an Easter out of Good Friday. Please keep me in your prayers and know that you are in mine."
The Diocese of New Hampshire backed the bishop's decision to seek treatment. "The Episcopal Church, through its General Convention, has long recognised alcoholism as a treatable human disease, not a failure of character or will," said Randolph K Dales, president of the diocese standing committee.
The bishop has remained a divisive figure, shunned by Anglican traditionalists and lionised by the homosexual community. He attended the New York gay pride march last year, drawing a crowd of spectators who reached out to touch his hand and thank him.
He portrays his ascent as the traditional path of the American celebrity in overcoming adversity.
"It sounds soap-operaish to say, but I'm the son of a tobacco sharecropper who didn't live in a house with running water until I was 10 years old," he said last year. "I can't believe I'm here, you know. So I find it very difficult to be anything but grateful."
His period of rehabilitation will no doubt be seen by his critics as a further stage on the path of the celebrity.
Last night the bishop's alcoholism was attacked by some religious conservatives, who had threatened a schism within both the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion when the bishop was elected.
One of his sharpest critics, David Virtue, of The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism, a conservative religious news service, said: "The Episcopal Church Left is already spinning to make the bishop look like a victim of his own drinking. There is no admission that it is personal failure.
"The truth is, Bishop Robinson is a fraud. Perhaps he should check in with an orthodox church and ask God's help to overcome his improper desire for sodomy."
END
