Fr. [Harold] Lewis, Calvary’s senior warden, and the parish sued Bishop Duncan and the diocese in 2003 after a special convention adopted a resolution that declared in part that property in the name of individual parishes belonged to the local congregation. Calvary and the diocese settled without a trial. The parties agreed that the existing diocesan leadership was competent to administer the assets of the diocese and that they would continue to be administered in accord with past practice.
Wicks Stephens, chancellor of the Anglican Communion Network and a member of the Pittsburgh standing committee, denied that the filing was intended to transfer assets to the Southern Cone or anywhere else.
“There is no intention to affect a transfer of property,” Mr. Stephens said. “The incorporation was designed to protect the diocese’s continued use of its name. Fr. Lewis continues to try to establish that diocesan property will be transferred to some other province. No matter how often Fr. Lewis makes that claim, it will not come true. In the event of realignment with the Southern Cone, there will be no property exchange involved. The proposed realignment would be of a temporary and emergency nature only.”
Having spent a few weeks in Pittsburgh a few years back, I am constantly amused at the fix they find themselves in. Father Lewis and the Diocese of Pittsburgh having to endure each other perpetually.
It’s ironically funny, but not “haha” funny.