INAUGURAL EVENT FEATURES GAY BISHOP: Obama asked V. Gene Robinson to deliver the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial.

     Gay rights advocates saw the move as a way to compensate for Mr. Obama’s decision to give the Rev. Rick Warren, a prominent mega-church pastor from California who opposes same-sex marriage, the high-profile role of delivering the invocation at the inauguration next week.

     Bishop Robinson advised Mr. Obama on gay rights issues during the campaign. He is the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, and his consecration in 2003 set off a growing rift in that church’s parent body, the Anglican Communion. Since then, Bishop Robinson has become an internationally known spokesman for gay rights, a hero to some and an object of scorn to others.

     In a telephone interview on Monday, Bishop Robinson said that he believed his inclusion in inaugural events had been under consideration before the controversy erupted over Mr. Warren but that Mr. Obama and his team were also seeking to heal the pain that Mr. Warren’s selection had caused among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates.

     “They called up and said this has actually been in the works for a long time,” Bishop Robinson said, “and at the same time, we understand that people in the L.G.B.T. community have been somewhat wounded by this choice, and it’s our hope that your selection will go a long way to heal those divides.”

     “In many ways,” he added, “it just proves that Barack Obama is exactly who he says he was and would be as president, which is someone who is casting a wide net that will include all Americans.”

     Evan Wolfson, executive director of the gay rights group Freedom to Marry, said the choice of Bishop Robinson to deliver the invocation at an inaugural event was “a very powerful statement.” But, Mr. Wolfson added, “at the end of the day, policy is more important than who stands at the inauguration.” (Source: New York Times/TheGospelNewsWire.com)