compounded by theological differences between Bennison and several conservative parishes. Theological disagreements Disagreements between traditionalist priests and Bishop Bennison centered on Bennison's writings on homosexuality and Christology. Bennison was a signatory to the "Koinonia Statement", a 1994 letter authored by John Shelby Spong, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. The statement affirmed the 1976 ordination of women and said that gay or lesbian relationships "that are faithful, monogamous, committed, life giving and holy are to be honored" and promised "support and protection" for gay and lesbian clergy. In 1997, while still coadjutor, Bennison published an article arguing that, "Because the legitimized paradigm institutionalized in the church's present marriage liturgy is a heterosexist one directed against gay men and lesbian women, a change in the rite is required to delegitimize that paradigm." He proposed 24 changes to the sacrament of marriage, some based on a "Visigothic rite," and wrote, "In their relationships and families, lesbian and gay couples, in fact, often display a more enviable and ideal model of the church than do heterosexual couples. ... Anyone who has seen The Birdcage, Mike Nichols's rendition of the gay comedy classic "La Cage Aux Folles" with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane playing a gay couple ... knows that it looks like a mini-church. Throughout history gay and lesbian couples have established in their committed relationships such minichurches, and, if such is the nature of marriage, then the church ought to open to gay and lesbian couples the sacrament of marriage." Bennison's statements on salvation and the doctrine of the Resurrection have been cited as a source of controversy. In a 2003 Easter Message, Bennison also wrote that Jesus "acknowledges his own sin. He knows himself to be forgiven." Many Christians interpreted this remark to be a denial of the sinlessness of Jesus. Dispute with the Church of St. James the Less, Philadelphia The Church of St. James the Less had, for many years, withheld its payments to the diocese in protest about the ordination of women. Bennison's decision to not renew the license of Fr. Willis, an assistant priest of St. James, further strained diocesan relations with the parish. In 1999, the vestry of St. James the Less voted to transfer the property and assets of the parish to a nonprofit corporation called the "CSJL Foundation," in order to disassociate from the diocese and the Episcopal Church. In response to