It is the attack made on Judge Houck’s factual reasoning in the first seven pages of the Memorandum that I would like to consider. Here the attorneys argue that under an earlier case from the same Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal which would hear any appeal from Judge Houck’s decision Bishop vonRosenberg has certain prerogatives of his office with which Bishop Lawrence is allegedly interfering.
The argument is ludicrous on its face. Consider this point: Bishop Lawrence is also a bishop of a diocese — the one that is paying his salary — and so under that same precedent, he has certain prerogatives of his office as well. What Bishop vonRosenberg wants is to restrict Bishop Lawrence’s prerogatives just so he can exercise the ones he claims are his.
And that is not all. In Dixon v. Edwards (the earlier case in question), Bishop Dixon claimed that it was the vestry and rector of a particular parish in her own diocese that were interfering with her prerogatives as its bishop, and the court decided that her claims warranted relief. But Bishop Lawrence is not in the same diocese as Bishop vonRosenberg, and is not subject to his jurisdiction. If Bishop Lawrence’s activities in his own diocese are interfering with Bishop vonRosenberg’s activities in his, then can a federal court supply a remedy? To do so would be to wade too far into matters that are “quintessentially ecclesiastical” (to quote the Court of Appeal’s decision in the Schofield case), in violation of the First Amendment.
Read it all and please note the link to the South Carolina filing which you can read in full.
More South Carolina Links
Well for me the money quote from Mr Haley is this right at the end:
This entirely confirms the background to the takeover of the United Thank Offering by the TEC Presiding Bishop this Summer and my assessment that she has run out of funds:
There is quite a stink going on about the way the Presiding Kleptocrat has stolen control of the United Thank Offering and packed it with her stooges to swamp the existing ladies.
Such is the ruthlessness of the Litigocrazy at 815 and the determination to raid all remaining funds of TEC they can lay their hands on before Goodwin Proctor’s puppet money bag’s reign comes to an end.
Meanwhile what it that sound? Why, it is pigs in truffles. Oink oink oink all the way to the bank!
Meanwhile the spineless bishops of TEC are being treated to a dumbed down diet of pseudo religious tripe at their latest meeting – Sesame Street theology for Schori’s emasculated supine bishops one hears from where Spring is sprung apparently in this strange world.
Will they say a word about the abuse of office by the PB and her band of robbers? Unlikely – they will no doubt keep taking the happy pills and ignoring the declining revenues, emptying pews, canonical abuse and the echoing empty bank accounts and continue to rubber stamp whatever monkey business the Kleptocracy put in front of them to sign off on.
What is that sound? Why it is the sound of the wise monkeys chattering.
[i] What do you really think, Pageantmaster? [Big Smile]. [/i]