Since late 2023 the Catholic institution has been using the Episcopal seminary’s Chapel of the Good Shepherd in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The music school meets twice weekly there for vespers.
ENS reported this month that the seminary is considering a “long-term lease” with the Catholic organization, one that would see the School of Sacred Music undertaking renovations of the Episcopal campus and paying the seminary an annual rent.
In their letter, the Episcopal bishops said they were “concerned by the lack of full acceptance of the LGBTQ stance” of the founders of SSM, as well as “the lack of transparency in its funding.”
“We recognize the difficult financial situation … with the General Seminary campus,” the bishops wrote. “We are also making difficult decisions about the future use of sacred spaces. It’s important to make decisions that align with our mission and values. Human dignity is not negotiable.”
It was not immediately clear what the bishops in their letter meant by the “lack of full acceptance of the LGBTQ stance” of the school’s founders. Spokespersons for the New York and Long Island Episcopal dioceses did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Though SSM lists relatively little information about its structure or organization on its website, the Episcopal news wire reported that the group is a subsidiary of the Ithuriel Fund, a “major donor” of which is Colin Moran, the president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life. That institute is the publisher of the Catholic magazine First Things.
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