Episcopal bishop who won heresy trial dies at 87

WASHINGTON (RNS) The Rt. Rev. Walter C. Righter, an Episcopal bishop
whose victory at a 1996 heresy trial played a key role in the push for
gay rights in the church, died on Sunday (Sept. 11) at the age of 87.

"I look around the Episcopal Church today where there are no
impediments to the ordination of gay or lesbian members ... none of that
would have happened without Bishop Righter's leadership," said the Rev.
Susan Russell of All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., former president
of the pro-gay group Integrity USA.

Righter was bishop of Iowa from 1972 to 1988, during which time he
ordained the first female deacon in Iowa. From 1989 to 1991, he served
as assistant bishop in the Diocese of Newark.