 Browning's theologically liberal views earned him both admiration from progressives and intense criticism by the conservative wing of the church, and the rift, primarily over whether openly homosexual clergy may be ordained and whether gay and lesbian couples' unions may be blessed by the church, grew during his tenure.The tensions broke into a personal public exchange at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, during a session of the House of Bishops, between the conservative Bishop John H. MacNaughton of the Diocese of West Texas and Bishop John Spong of the Diocese of Newark, prompting Browning to call for an unusual closed session of the bishops.Browning also supported the adoption of a pro-choice stance on abortion by the Episcopal Church at their 71st General Convention in 1994, the first taken by an Anglican Communion province.