After clearing the allegations against him (official report here), the House of Bishops confirmed Rev. Robinson as the new Episcopal Bishop of the New Hampshire diocese.

Bishops at the Church’s Episcopal General Convention voted 62-45 to confirm Robinson as head of the Diocese of New Hampshire after a debate that mirrored the divisions in the larger worldwide communion.

The vote — which would ordinarily, I would imagine, would be unanimous or nearly so — clearly shows the divisions within ECUSA. I hope that this does not presage a schism within the Episcopal Church — or the Anglican Union, for that matter. What joins us is far greater than one divides us.

Nonetheless, I applaud the General Convention for its confirmation of New Hampshire’s choice. Not only ought the prayerfully considered election by the diocese be given deference by the convention, whenever possible, but the confirmation by the convention shows, to my mind, a courage in the face of possible “chaos and loss” — a sign, perhaps, of what the right course was.

UPDATE: Interestingly, the election has overshadowed — so far, at least — the perennial hot button of liturgy to support same-sex unions. It seems there’s been at least some progress and compromise on that one, too.

Rev. Robinson has been cleared of the allegations made against him.

Scruton said Lewis refused to lodge a formal complaint when Scruton interviewed him by telephone Monday afternoon. Lewis said he was “made uncomfortable” by the two brief encounters with Robinson at a church event in November 1999, both of which took place in public, Scruton said.
Lewis, whom Scruton referred to only as “the individual,” told him that Robinson “put his left hand on the individual’s arm and his right hand on the individual’s upper back” as Robinson answered a question Lewis had asked.
Scruton said the other encounter occurred when Lewis turned to make a comment to Robinson and the clergyman “touched the individual’s forearm and back while responding with his own comment.” No inappropriate sexual comments were made, Scruton said.
Scruton said Lewis acknowledged that other people could have seen the incidents and viewed them as “perfectly normal.” He said Lewis told the investigating bishops that he “regretted using the word harassment” in his e-mail message.
Lewis “indicated he had no desire to pursue the matter any further,” Scruton said. “He said he was thankful the church had taken this seriously and that he felt “listened to.”
Lou Midura, a Lewis family friend, said Tuesday at a news conference in Manchester that Lewis never meant the e-mail message to be made public. He said Lewis sent the message only so it could be conveyed privately to other bishops.

It sounds to me like, at most, (a) Robinson is a touchy-feely person, which makes some people uncomfortable (it does me) but is hardly a grounds for scandal, (b) Lewis was aware of Robinson’s sexual orientation, and that heaped discomfort on discomfort, and (c) somebody (Lewis? the bishop he sent the e-mail to?) was clutching at straws to make this into something it wasn’t.

On the web site, the investigator determined that Robinson’s involvement with the group ended four years before the web site went up.

Again, clutching at straws.

Frankly, I’m disappointed. I can appreciate, though disagree with, a principled opposition to Rev. Robinson’s election. I cannot abide this sort of smear politicking, however — it only discredits the mudslinger, not the intended target.

The actual vote in the House of Bishops is scheduled to occur this evening. Stay tuned.