Caught lying yesterday ... so why believe him today?

"Never!" But I guess it all depends on what you mean by never ...

Bishop Bruno at yesterday’s press conference in New Orleans, House of Bishop’s Meeting, September, 2007

Bruno: "The fact of life is we have never authorized a same sex blessing in our church. Never. Authorization of that would require two readings of a constitutional resolution. We haven’t done it ...

NY Times Reporter: "It happens on a diocesan level and you know that …”

Bruno: "It does not happen in my diocese with my permission.”

Ooopppsss ... But then there’s the picture above showing Bishop Bruno vested and attending the same sex blessing of author and priest Malcolm Boyd. From MalcolmBoyd.Com we read ...

On May l6, 2004, Bishop Bruno of Los Angeles blessed the union of Malcolm and Mark Thompson in a ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, on the 20th anniversary of their life partnership. Mark, former cultural editor of the Advocate newsmagazine, is a therapist, photographer, activist, editor of “Long Road to Freedom: the Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement,” and author of a famed trilogy: “Gay Spirit,” “Gay Soul” and “Gay Body.”

And from washingtonpost.com we read ...

"The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont unveiled new guidelines Friday for the performance of civil union ceremonies for same-sex couples, sparking a swift denunciation from conservatives in the 70 million-member Anglican Communion, which has been riven by issues related to homosexuality in the past year. Episcopal priests in Vermont have been presiding over such ceremonies since 2000, when the state became the first in the nation to allow civil unions that give gay couples most of the legal protections of marriage. But conservatives in the church are upset that the new guidelines allow a liturgy closely resembling that of a wedding. While other dioceses have also developed new liturgical rites for same-sex couples, Vermont's are the only ones that carry legal weight because the state's civil union law permits couples to be joined by clergy, said Vermont Bishop Thomas C. Ely, who last year commissioned a task force to develop the new ceremonies. "This signals a valuing of the commitment and presence of gays and lesbians in our churches and an ongoing commitment to the fact that when we say the Episcopal Church welcomes you, we mean it," he said. Since U.S. dioceses were given the option of blessing same-sex unions at the Episcopal Church's general convention last year, several other dioceses across the country, including the one in Washington have developed new liturgies. Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno recently became the first diocesan head to preside over such a ceremony.

The Bottom Line: OK, so who are you going to believe? That’s the real question here, regardless of your theological stance on same sex blessings. How can we believe a bishop who says “Never” but is caught red handed doing what he says never happens. And what do we say to the same bishop who is among the drafting team who give us the official response of the House of Bishops to the rest of the Anglican Communion? Why should anyone believe him today after yesterday's bold lie?

Interesting to note ... Did you know, the name of the support group for LGBT Episcopalians is called Integrity? What kind of integrity though do we see in Bishop Bruno?