Methodist court upholds traditional marriage teaching

An openly lesbian bishop can keep her post in the United Methodist Church, for now. Karen Oliveto is part of the denomination’s Western Jurisdiction, which disagrees with church teaching that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” The defiant district elected Oliveto to lead a Denver-area church last year. On Friday, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church ruled that “partnered homosexuals” do not meet the minimum requirements for ordination because they do not uphold church teaching on marriage. It also ruled that clergy can be disciplined for their actions if they are in a same-sex civil marriage. But the court stopped short of disciplining Oliveto, saying instead that she must go through the normal review process to determine whether she violated church law. Both Oliveto and her critics hailed the ruling as a decision in their favor. Oliveto called on other districts to ordain openly gay clergy to push the church to change its teaching on marriage.