Straight bishop chosen over gays

San Francisco: The Episcopal Church breathed a sigh of relief after a heterosexual was elected bishop of a San Francisco Bay Area diocese, tamping down at least temporarily rising tensions over the role of gays in the church.

Alabama Bishop Mark Handley Andrus, 49, edged out six other finalists, including two gays and a lesbian, in a process some feared would widen a chasm between the US Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion to which it belongs.

His win answered the central question in a drama which had been closely watched throughout the 77-million-member Anglican Communion: Whether Diocese of California Bishop William Swing, who is retiring in July, would be replaced by the church's second openly gay Episcopal bishop.

But the battle over human sexuality is far from over. Differing biblical interpretations and views on homosexuality are expected to be a focus of the denomination's triennial national convention to be held this year in Columbus, Ohio, in June.

The three gay and lesbian nominees had garnered the least number of votes cast.

In a statement Andrus drew loud applause from the delegates after he assured them that "your vote today remains a vote for inclusion and communion, of gay and lesbian people in their full lives as single or partnered people, of women, of all ethnic minorities, and all people."