Local Episcopalians hoping to reclaim millions of dollars in church property, which is now controlled by those who split six years ago from the national Episcopal Church, are taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth who remain faithful to the U.S. Episcopal Church filed a petition Thursday for a writ of certiorari with the nation’s highest court.
The petition asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision of the Texas Supreme Court on Aug. 30, 2013, overturning a Fort Worth lower court’s ruling in January 2011 that awarded property and holdings in the 24-county diocese to those loyal to the national church.
The Texas Supreme Court called for a rehearing on property matters in Judge John Chupp’s 141st District Court based on “neutral principles” of Texas law. The “deference” principles used in the earlier decision gave weight to the hierarchical structure of the U.S. Episcopal Church and its claim of ownership of all church properties.
The sentence “…gave weight to the hierarchical structure of the U.S. Episcopal Church and its claim of ownership of all church properties.” is, perhaps unwittingly, not objective. Moving the “claim” to before the hierarchical bit would allow some room for the Texas Supreme Court decision to be seen as logical and not arbitrary as it may appear in the article.
How can they “reclaim” property which the Episcopal Church insists they had no claim to at all> If a congregation holds property in trust for the national church, the only one to “reclaim” is the national church since the local congregation has no interest in the property. Welcome to the Wonderland of Ms. Schori and her legal team.