tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post5279781194313827959..comments2024-02-19T07:24:42.397-08:00Comments on Anglican Curmudgeon: Lawsuits Are a Symptom; the Disease Is TerminalA. S. Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-53139867693914369722008-12-15T18:26:00.000-08:002008-12-15T18:26:00.000-08:00The Episcopal Church has shot itself in the foot b...The Episcopal Church has shot itself in the foot by dragging an alleged canon out of the dustbin to justify their lawsuits against lay volunteers who serve their local parishes. As we learned in court in Virginia, when the Dennis Canon was passed, the bishop should have required each parish to change their deeds so that he held title to the properties. The Diocese responded that if they had done that there would have been a huge outcry (the irony was not lost in the courtroom) because of course in Virginia the laity assume the church is theirs.<BR/><BR/>Now with TEC assuming authoritarian control over local parishes, what lay person in their right mind is going to shell out money to maintain the upkeep of a building that is not theirs but owned by some person in a purple shirt who sits in his castle elsewhere?<BR/><BR/>And the Bishop of Virginia still hasn't sent out the letters demanding that parishes put their deeds in his name. In fact, his lawyers made an outlandish claim in court that another parish actually owns one of the parishes in dispute - for two hundred years no less!<BR/><BR/>Bishop Lee knew he had no leg to stand on when it came to applying a Dennis Canon in Virginia. While members of the HoB/HoD listserve howl on the moors, the rank and file laity quietly sit in the pews and send their tax-deductible donations elsewhere, lest their funds are spent on more lawsuits. Even Bishop Chane recognizes that he's stepping in the doo doo on his side of the Potomac, hence his rather frantic letter to his diocese after the new province was announced. The laity are getting restless - especially the liberal instutionalists.<BR/><BR/>We learned in court in Fairfax that the Presiding Bishop must resist and keep the property for to allow the property to go will be an indisputable indication that TEC is in schism and the Holy Spirit may not doing "the new thing" after all - big time Oops. That is serious business. It's no wonder then that so much money (and $2 million is quite a conservative estimate) is being spent at this juncture - to be found wrong will have eternal consequences, someone will be held accountable for leading the laity atray - scripture is quite clear about that. The PB is devout enough to know that.<BR/><BR/>So the lawsuits and appeals keep on coming. What a waste.<BR/><BR/>bbAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490745238430648958noreply@blogger.com