A Louisiana appeals court has opened the legal door for Episcopal churches in the state to quit the national Church and keep their properties.
On 14 September 2011 the First Circuit Court of Appeal in Baton Rouge upheld a lower court decision allowing a Presbyterian congregation to leave its presbytery and keep its property ”“ even though the Presbyterian Church’s constitutional documents claimed an interest in the property.
Relying upon the US Supreme Court’s decision in Jones v Wolfe, the appeals court in the case of Carrollton Presbyterian Church v the Presbytery of Southern Louisiana rejected the argument put forward by the presbytery that the addition of a trust clause in a denomination’s constitution was sufficient to create a valid and enforceable trust on property.
It is interesting to see just how up-to-speed the attorney in a Presbyterian context is about matters Episcopalian. He gives a very thorough set of answers. The atmosphere in which this is all taking place is getting thinner and thinner. The next shoe to drop may be in Texas.
I used to go to scout meetings at Carrollton Pres. Good news for them!
I agree, Dr. Seitz.
Although it’s entirely possible that “the next shoe to drop” may be here in VA, where Judge Randy Bellows in Fairfax could issue his ruling anytime, although it’s not expected until early next year.
TEC has adopted a very high risk, all-or-nothing approach with these scandalous lawsuits, as the Anglican Curmudgeon has documented so well and so lucidly. Once the legal precedents start piling up against TEC and its shameless administration, their whole house of cards could come crashing down. For it is built on sand, not on “the Rock” (ala Matt. 7).
Cordially,
David Handy+
Once those shoes start dropping, who knows where it will end?