{"id":62998,"date":"2017-09-02T07:02:39","date_gmt":"2017-09-02T11:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=62998"},"modified":"2017-10-13T17:47:53","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T21:47:53","slug":"diocese-of-south-carolina-and-29-parish-churches-file-motion-for-rehearing-in-state-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=62998","title":{"rendered":"Diocese of South Carolina and 29 Parish Churches File Motion for Rehearing in State Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

Citing\u00a0significant departures from both state and federal precedents,\u00a0the Diocese of South Carolina and 29 parish churches today filed a\u00a0motion for rehearing<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0South Carolina Supreme Court regarding its recent ruling in Appellate Case No. 2015-000622.\u00a0\u00a0In 2012,\u00a0the Diocese of South Carolina, along with 50 of its congregations voted to\u00a0disassociate from The Episcopal Church. \u00a0In a complicated and\u00a0sharply divided ruling consisting of five separate opinions<\/a>, the S.C. Supreme Court ruled on August 2 this year that parishes which had \u201cacceded\u201d to the national church\u2019s \u2018Dennis canon\u2019 are subject to a trust interest in their property by The Episcopal Church (TEC).\u00a0 Only eight congregations were judged to have full rights to retain their property.<\/p>\n

In a decision that partly reversed the February 2015 Circuit Court ruling of Judge Diane Goodstein, the Supreme Court significantly changed court precedents in multiple areas and divested the property rights of at least 28 congregations and over 20,000 church members.<\/p>\n

Grounds for Rehearing<\/b><\/p>\n

While there are multiple legal issues in the ruling that merit rehearing, the most crucial are possibly the constitutional ones controlling cases of religious property.\u00a0 As stated in the conclusion to the petition: \u201cThe majority has fashioned a neutral principles standard for religious organizations under South Carolina property, trust and corporate law that admittedly would not be applied to secular organizations. It then applied it to religious organizations today in a fashion it did not do 8 years ago involving the same issues between the Plaintiff Diocese, The Episcopal Church and a parish church. It does so when no appellant asked the trial court, either during trial or post trial, to apply such a standard. As a result, the majority would transfer the real and personal property of South Carolina religious organizations, many of whom preexisted The Episcopal Church and the United States, to a New York religious organization. This establishment of one religion over another impacts the choices these South Carolina religious organizations (and those associated with them) made in the free exercise of their religion.\u00a0 They chose to disassociate, exercising their right of association under the United States and South Carolina Constitutions which this Court has recognized.\u00a0 Yet, according to the majority, that constitutionally protected decision, requires a massive transfer of centuries old real and personal property when it would not be required for a secular South Carolina organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The petition concluded: \u201cThese are serious issues for Respondents, Appellants and for all religious organizations in South Carolina. This Court should grant a rehearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Citing\u00a0significant departures from both state and federal precedents,\u00a0the Diocese of South Carolina and 29 parish churches today filed a\u00a0motion for rehearing\u00a0in the\u00a0South Carolina Supreme Court regarding its recent ruling in Appellate Case No. 2015-000622.\u00a0\u00a0In 2012,\u00a0the Diocese of South Carolina, along…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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