Presentment Supporters and Opponents Speak Out as Righter Heresy Trial Approaches
Episcopal News Service. October 19, 1995 [95-1267]
(ENS) As the Episcopal Church moves toward its second heresy trial in history involving a bishop, opinion remains sharply divided -- and frequently expressed -- over whether the accused is a heretic or a hero.
Ten bishops who brought a presentment against Bishop Walter Righter for ordaining a noncelibate homosexual man in 1990 while serving as assistant bishop in the Diocese of Newark have charged that his action violates church doctrine. Others who have rallied to Righter's cause maintain he is a scapegoat unfairly targeted for doing what many other bishops have done.
The charge against Righter will be heard by the nine-member Court for the Trial of a Bishop in Chicago January 3-5.
According to Bishop Edward Jones of Indianapolis, president of the court, the site was chosen because Chicago is accessible for travel; the trial will be held at the offices of the Diocese of Chicago whose cathedral next door will be used for prayer to undergird the deliberations; and the site is "neutral."
Members of the court also have approved appointment of A. Hugo Blankingship, Jr., of Fairfax, Virginia, as Church Advocate to serve as legal adviser to those who brought the presentment charges against Righter last January.
The canon laws of the church stipulate that the court select no fewer than two or more than three Lay Assessors, confirmed adult communicants in good standing who are learned in the law to advise the court on any non-theological question. That selection process is already under way, Jones reported. Righter will be represented by Michael Rehill, chancellor of the Diocese of Newark.
Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning forestalled any outbreak of the "Righter debate" on the floor of the recent House of Bishops meeting in Portland by stressing that the case is in the hands of the court and that discussion by the house would be inappropriate.
But in other forums the debate goes on as both supporters and opponents of the presentment argue the merits of the charge while explaining their own positions in bishops' columns in diocesan newspapers, letters and on-line computer discussion groups.
Giving voice to sentiments expressed as well by the other presenting bishops, Bishop Terence Kelshaw of the Diocese of the Rio Grande maintained Righter has failed to live out his vows as a bishop to teach and defend the gospel, and to serve as "guardian of the faith and overseer of God's people."
Righter "acted contrary to the church's teaching, and by so doing violated his ordination vows," Kelshaw wrote in a column explaining his decision to be one of the 10 presenting bishops. "The presentment is not about homosexuality," he wrote. "Neither is it about rights. The presentment is about Episcopal anarchy."
Bishop Dorsey Henderson of Upper South Carolina, who was not one of the presenting bishops and did not join the 76 bishops whose support moved the case to trial, nevertheless echoed Kelshaw's concern. "We bishops show an increasing tendency to act on private revelation rather than in accordance with the Anglican way of doing theology -- that is, as a community," he wrote in a letter to the other bishops. Such individual actions, he argued, "result in disunity and disorder."
Henderson argued against proceeding with the presentment because it would only increase the disunity. He urged instead a period of prayerful study of the issues.
Meanwhile, supporters of Righter, concerned that as a retired bishop he is ill-equipped to cover the high cost of the trial, have established a defense fund through the Diocese of Newark.
In a liturgical show of support, St. Luke's in Montclair, New Jersey, served as the site for a choral evensong in early October celebrating the ministry of Righter and the Rev. Barry Stopfel, the priest he ordained. The service highlighted as well the work of The Oasis, the Diocese of Newark's ministry with gay people, their families and friends.
Supporters of Righter also have been invited by Peg Dengel of the Diocese of Newark to show their concern by wearing a purple and lavender lapel pin. The colors, she explained, represent the episcopacy and the ministry of gays and lesbians. Donations, she said, are being passed on to the Bishop Righter defense fund.
In mid-October, the rector of St. Paul's in Paterson, New Jersey, was moved to make her own very personal show of solidarity as she took the difficult step of announcing publicly to her congregation that she is a lesbian. "I have decided that I cannot allow Bishop Righter or my friend Barry Stopfel to stand alone," wrote the Rev. Tracy Lind in a letter to her congregation. "I am not coming out because I want to talk about my sexuality; rather I am coming out because the gospel demands it for the sake of justice."
The church's vestry unanimously approved a resolution affirming and supporting Lind and promising to "stand ready to protect and defend" her. In affirming her "public witness as an openly gay priest," they also stated that "we understand this action to be consistent with the ministry and mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church."
While they were unable to debate the matter as a house, 35 bishops signed a statement of support (see Newsfeatures section) for Righter following the Portland meeting. "Walter Righter's trial is a trial of the Gospel, a trial of justice, a trial of fairness, and a trial of the Church," they wrote. "We stand with Bishop Righter. We feel charged as Bishop Righter is charged. We feel on trial as Bishop Righter is on trial. Should he be found guilty, we are guilty."
The board of directors of Integrity, the national organization for gay and lesbian Episcopalians, has called for January 2, the eve of the trial, to be a national day of prayer. The Committee on the Status of Women also is calling for noonday prayers remembering all those involved in the trial, starting in Advent, as well as a prayer vigil beginning January 2 and continuing through the duration of the trial.
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