A local group representing the national Episcopal Church has hit a legal snag in its attempt to take control of the property of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth.
The 2nd Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the group’s attorneys, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of “The Corporation” and “The Fort Worth Diocese,” cannot represent those entities because the entities are also associated with Bishop Jack Iker, the defendant in the lawsuit.
The appellate court noted that there is only one corporation and diocese, which both sides are staking claim to.
So who will they be suing on behalf of? The National Church? And what, exactly, will be their standing in the case? It seems that any claims against the legal Diocese has been severely weakened.
[blockquote]”Those are among the options, but no decisions have been made,” said Katie Sherrod, a spokeswoman for the group. “It’s one step in what is going to be a very long process. … We are very patiently letting the process play out. In the meantime, we are getting on with the work of the church.”[/blockquote] “In the meantime we are getting on with the work of the church.” This is the mantra of remain Episcopal folks. They are the folks who are now at the center of TEC according to Bishop Jerry Lamb. Too bad they won’t be able to pay off the “loans” TEC is providing to sue us. They will be propped up until the legal battles are over and then reabsorbed into another diocese whether they win or not. TEC is taking the people they claim were formerly on the margins and using them for their own purposes. Where is the justice in that?
Hmmm. The pro-TEC bias in this article seems blatant. To downplay the significance of this legal decision as a mere “snag” or procedural “setback” is surely to minimize it, as pelagious (#1) rightly noted.
David Handy+
NRA,
Katie Sherrod used to write for the Star-Telegram.
I don’t know if they’re actually going to juncture the rump diocese with another. As the Diocese of Northern Michigan has shown us, a handful of parishes with almost no full time paid clergy can limp along if they really want to do so. If they aren’t going to juncture a diocese with an ASA of less than 700, I don’t know what circumstances will cause such a move. In the rare example where a juncture is even explored (DioNWPA) it seems to be shelved rather quickly. Maybe it is a pride issue.
Fr. Dale (#4),
Thanks. No wonder Sherrod is prominently quoted in the article.
David Handy+
“In the meantime, we are getting on with the work of the church.”
…like suing other Christians. Nice.