Methodist Bishops Support Gay Ban

Responding to a recent break in their ranks, the United Methodist bishops Tuesday affirmed the church’s opposition to homosexuality and the ordination of gays.

The 67-member Council of Bishops acknowledged at a meeting of the church’s General Conference that there are serious differences on the issue within the 8.5 million-member denomination, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination.

But in a statement adopted unanimously, the bishops said they are committed to following church law banning gay ordinations and declaring the practice of homosexuality to be incompatible with church teaching.