From The Post-Gazette-
Bishop Walter Righter, whose 1990 ordination of a gay deacon opened the Episcopal Church to partnered gay clergy after a church court dismissed heresy charges against him, died Sunday at his home in Export. The retired bishop of Iowa, who was first ordained in Pittsburgh, was 87.
"Bishop Righter is one of the giants on whose shoulders gay and lesbian Christians stand," said Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who in 2003 became the first openly gay Episcopal bishop. "Long before it became popular, Walter became a straight ally of the gay Christian community, putting his life and ecclesiastical career on the line for us."
"The Episcopal Church can give thanks for the life of a faithful and prophetic servant," said Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. "His ministry will be remembered for his pastoral heart and his steadfast willingness to help the church move beyond old prejudices into new possibilities."
The heresy charge stemmed from his early retirement, when he became an assisting bishop to the firebrand liberal Bishop John Spong of Newark, N.J. Until then, Bishop Righter had been known as an unassuming centrist. But the conservative attempt to declare him a heretic ricocheted, and many conservatives ultimately left the Episcopal Church.
Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11256/1174247-122-0.stm#ixzz1XperOdzR
LA Times-
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-walter-righter-20110913-1,0,4375979.story
Washington Post-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/walter-c-righter-dies-episcopal-bishop-played-role-in-gay-rights-in-church/2011/09/12/gIQAAcbuNK_story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment