c. 1996 Religion News Service

WILMINGTON, Del. (RNS)-Saying there is nothing in Episcopal doctrine to bar non-celibate homosexuals from becoming deacons and priests, a church court dismissed heresy charges against a retired bishop Wednesday (May 15) and opened the possibility that gay ordinations will increase dramatically in the 2.5 million-member denomination.

In dropping the charge that Bishop Walter Righter violated his ordination vow in 1990 when he ordained Barry Stopfel, now a priest in the diocese of Newark, the court declared that”there is no discipline of the church prohibiting the ordination of a non-celibate homosexuals.” The court said its ruling was on”the narrow issue”of whether Righter violated church law and was not an endorsement of homosexual ordination.”We are not deciding whether life-long committed, same-gender sexual relationships are or are not a wholesome example with respect to ordination vows,”the decision stated.”We are not rendering an opinion on whether a bishop and diocese should or should not ordain persons living in same gender sexual relationships.” Still, the 7-1 ruling makes the Episcopal Church only the second mainline Protestant denomination to allow gay ordination, after the United Church of Christ.”At the present time there is no legal restraint on the right of a bishop to ordain non-celibate gays,”Michael Rehill, chancellor of the diocese of Newark and the lead attorney for Righter, said after the church court announced its decision.”It (the court) is not saying it’s OK, it’s saying it’s not illegal.” Asked if he thought the ruling would lead to an increase in the number of noncelibate gays who are ordained, Rehill said,”Probably yes because what the court held is that there are no canonical (church law) restraints”on such ordinations.

Leaders of the conservative wing of the church who brought the charges against Righter left open the possibility that they would appeal the ruling on the charge that Righter committed heresy.

Church law forbids an appeal on a separate charge in the case-that Righter violated his ordination vow by ordaining a non-celibate homosexual.

Bishop John W. Howe of the Diocese of Central Florida, one of the 10 bishops who brought the charges against Righter, said he was”disappointed but not surprised”by the ruling.”We anticipated the results,”he said.

Asked if his group would appeal, Howe said,”we haven’t made that decision yet.”The group has 30 days to decide.

If the decision is not changed on appeal, the denomination could bar gay ordination when the Episcopal governing body next meets, in 1997.

While seeking to close the Righter episode, the court said broader issues involving homosexuality and the church remain unresolved.”We remind the church that this issue will not be resolved and the church unified in its faith and practice by presentments and trials, nor by unilateral acts of bishops and their dioceses, or through the adoption of proclamations by groups of bishops or others expressing positions on the issues,”the ruling says.

The court, originally made up of nine bishops, has been considering the case against Righter, 72, the retired bishop of Iowa, since last August.

As the court convened Wednesday in the sanctuary of the Cathedral Church of St. John in Wilmington, Del., Presiding Judge Edward Jones announced that Bishop Frederick Borsch of Los Angeles had withdrawn from the case. Jones did not explain Borsch’s move, but Righter’s accusers had sought to have Borsch removed from the court because he had consented to the ordination of a non-celibate homosexual in January.

With sun streaming through a stained-glass window depicting the Last Supper behind him, Bishop Cabell Tennis of the Diocese of Delaware read highlights of the 27-page majority decision.

The decision drew a distinction between what it called”the Core Doctrine”of the church, which it described as”the story of God’s relationship to God’s people”and that is found in the New Testament teaching about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and other matters of faith, belief, practice and morals.

It said the church laws meant to protect doctrine and that Righter was accused of violating apply only to the Core Doctrine, not other matters of faith and belief.

One bishop, Andrew Fairfield of North Dakota, dissented from the majority view, sharply arguing that the Bible forbids all homosexual activity. Two bishops, Roger White of Milwaukee and Donis Patterson, a retired bishop of Dallas, voted with the majority but issued a separate concurring decision.

Bishops signing the majority opinion, in addition to Tennis, White and Patterson, were: Jones, Douglas E. Theuner of New Hampshire, Robert C. Johnson Jr. of North Carolina, and Arthur Walmsley, retired bishop of Connecticut.

Hugo Blankingship Jr., of Falls Church, Va., the attorney for Howe and the other nine who brought the charges, declined to comment.

A grinning Righter, at a news conference, said he felt”relief and gratitude”as Tennis read the decision.

Rehill expressed the hope that the accusers would not appeal the ruling.

He said supporters of gay rights in the denomination”represent the majority view”in the church.” Stopfel, who sat with his partner, Will Leckie, in the third row of the sanctuary as the decision was read, said he felt”vindicated”by the ruling.”I feel very proud of our church today,”he said.

As the court session ended, a man in the sparse audience witnessing the event rose to his feet and began singing”The Doxology,”the familiar liturgical song that begins,”Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”JC END ANDERSON