Episcopal church suspends Muslim female priest

SEATTLE — The female Episcopal priest who claims she also is a Muslim has been suspended from the priesthood and other Episcopal leadership roles for a year, according to the dioceses that ordained her 23 years ago. Ann Holmes Redding has been ordered to “reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam,” Geralyn Wolf, bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, wrote in an e-mail to church leaders.

In June, Redding told reporters: “I am both Muslim and Christian, just like I’m both an American of African descent and a woman. I’m 100 percent both. … At the most basic level, I understand the two religions to be compatible. That’s all I need.”

For the next year, Wolf said Redding “is not to exercise any of the responsibilities and privileges of an Episcopal priest or deacon,” and Redding gave up her priest’s collar. At the end of a year, the two will again discuss the matter to determine whether Redding should leave the priesthood permanently.