Episcopalians Elect First Woman to Head U.S. Church

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• JIM LEHRER:

  Now, new leaders for two major Protestant denominations. First, the Episcopal Church, Kim Lawton, special correspondent from Religion and Ethics Weekly, has been covering the Episcopalians' convention. She begins with a report on the choice of the new presiding bishop.

• KIM LAWTON, NewsHour Special Correspondent:

  She was greeted with shouts of joy here at the Episcopal General Convention in Columbus, but newly-elected presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori faces big challenges within the U.S. Episcopal Church and across the deeply-divided worldwide Anglican community.

• REV. KATHARINE JEFFERTS SCHORI, Presiding Bishop-Elect, Episcopal Church:

  I have awed, and honored, and deeply privileged to have been elected.

• KIM LAWTON:

  When Episcopalians elected Nevada Bishop Jefferts Schori as their church's top leader, she became the first women to lead a national church in the Anglican Communion. It's been nearly 30 years to the day since the Episcopal Church began ordaining female priests.

  Many women here were elated by the election of Jefferts Schori as presiding bishop.

• MEMBER OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

  She is brilliant. She is thoughtful, and she brings clarity of vision, and she speaks Spanish.

• KIM LAWTON:

  But there were also voices of concern.

• MEMBER OF EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

  I am shocked, dismayed and saddened by the choice of the house.

• KIM LAWTON:

  Three Episcopal diocese in the U.S. do not recognize the ordination of women. Today, one of those, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, asked to be put under the oversight of another Anglican leader.

  Across the global communion, only two other Anglican churches have female bishops: Canada and New Zealand. Many don't even allow female priests.

  Reverend David Anderson leads the American Anglican Council.

• DAVID ANDERSON, President, American Anglican Council:

  Her election only intensifies the trajectory of the Episcopal Church in a seeming arc out of the Anglican orbit.

• KIM LAWTON:

  American conservatives say their deepest concerns are theological. Her election adds a new layer of complexity to the already-simmering debates over homosexuality.

  Jefferts Schori supported the consecration of Gene Robinson, the church's first openly-gay bishop, and she has supported the blessing of same-sex unions. Conservatives believe her election will only lead to further divisions.

• DAVID ANDERSON:

  We are truly two churches under one roof. How long that can continue is certainly a subject of discussion.

• KIM LAWTON:

  Jefferts Schori is married and the mother of an adult daughter. She's a former oceanographer and a licensed pilot. She says she will work to keep the church together.

• KATHARINE JEFFERTS SCHORI:

  I think my witness needs to be about reconciliation. I have good relationships with almost every single member of the House of Bishops, whether we agree or disagree, and I will bend over backwards to build relationships with people who disagree with me.

• KIM LAWTON:

  Those disagreements are emerging here again, as this convention now debates whether to move forward in ordaining gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions. Votes on those issues are expected over the next two days.

• JIM LEHRER:

  Ray Suarez has more.