A Post To the HOBD Listserv About Church Property Litigation – A Church Built On Fear

First of all, the California game is not over yet. We’ll see what the decision ultimately is. However, that will be California, and different states will come up with different decisions based on their laws. What I would say mostly as a lawyer is that if the accession to the Dennis Canon is not filed in the public records with each parish actually assenting to the Dennis Canon trust, it may not be enforceable. We’ve had these discussions before. I know that it certain Dioceses they have checked on these issues and have done something about them. If these issues aren’t addressed, then “if it ain’t on the deed, you may not succeed,” to borrow stylistically from another lawyer who has roots in Louisiana (“if the glove don’t fit, you must acquit.”)

You also need to know that stare decisis is not an absolute principle. If it was, most of the civil rights decisions of the U.S. Supremes from the 1950′s and 60′s would not have happened.

I would not accuse people who paid for parish property trying to buck a trust to which they did not assent or may be revocable “stealing.” I would call them litigants. You would call them thieves in order to demonize them. Further, you are absolutely incorrect about the parishes not offering to pay for them. As I understand it, Bishop Lee cut off all negotiations toward such an amicable settlement in favor of the lawsuits.

Does the Episcopal Church have the right to do what it is doing in pressing this litigation? Sure. Is that the best approach to conflict resolution? Nope. I still believe trying to negotiate and resolve these issues is preferable to litigation. That used to happen, but it isn’t anymore, because the Episcopal Church’s strategy at this point is to convince people not to leave the Episcopal Church on the basis that if they leave the Episcopal Church they will lose their buildings. Quite an evangelism strategy for retaining membership in the church. Scare folks into staying by playing on their emotional attachments to buildings they were baptized, confirmed, married and had their relations buried in. A church built on fear.

And Jesus wept.

News Release From Fr. Bollinger’s Attorney

From here:

CNY Church Court Dismisses Case Against Priest
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Raymond J. Dague 315-422-2052

http://www.DagueLaw.com

After an 18 month saga of temporary inhibitions and presentment by the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York and Bishop Gladstone “Skip” Adams, III of Syracuse charging a parish priest with financial misconduct at his former parish, the priest was exonerated today when the Episcopal Church ecclesiastical court dismissed all of the charges. That priest now has restored to him by canon law the right to celebrate the Eucharist and perform the other functions of a clergyman which were taken away from him by the bishop a year and a half ago.

Fr. David Bollinger defended the proceeding which resulted in the church court refusing to allow any evidence to be introduced against the priest or any witnesses to testify against him. The judge cited numerous procedural problems with the case brought by the bishop and the diocese against Fr. Bollinger. Carter Strickland, the judge in the ecclesiastical court, had previously directed the prosecutor, church attorney James Sparks, to give Fr. Bollinger copies of the evidence against him, but the diocese refused to release it to the priest. One of the pieces of evidence was the so-called Schafer Report. That was a report commissioned by the diocese and prepared by a previous judge of the ecclesiastical court. That report was believed to have contained evidence to the effect that Fr.Bollinger was not guilty of misconduct.

“One of the basic rules of due process of law is that someone accused of an offense should be able to see the evidence against him,” said Raymond Dague, the attorney for Fr. Bollinger. “The failure of the diocese and the bishop to disclose this evidence to Fr. Bollinger was the straw that broke the camel’s back in their case against this priest. We applaud the faithful judge who was able to stand up against a bishop and tell him that he was not above the law and rules of fair play.”

The bishop brought the charges against Fr. Bollinger after Bollinger publicly challenged the bishop. Fr. Bollinger had claimed that the bishop was covering up an alleged sex abuse of young boys by a retired priest at Bollinger’s Owego, New York parish. That retired priest, Fr. Ralph Johnson, renounced his orders as an Episcopal priest when later confronted by the allegations of the sexual abuse, but the bishop kept moving forward with the case against Fr. Bollinger despite that development.

When the diocese realized that the judge in the ecclesiastical court was directing the prosecuting church attorney to turn copies of evidence over to Fr. Bollinger, the diocese tried unsuccessfully to get the judge off of the case and to transfer the case to another church court.

“Ignoring the orders of Judge Strickland to show their evidence to Fr. Bollinger was the basis of the dismissal,” said Dague. “But I am sure that the challenge to the court by the diocese did not help their case much either.”

Fourteen Years Ago Today

Carrie Michelle Hamrick, 20, married a goofball fraternity guy, 21, at St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida. The Rev. Canon Steve Jecko celebrated and preached. After a wedding cruise to the Bahamas, the goofball was starting law school at LSU in the fall, while Carrie was going to finish her undergraduate degree. Carrie and the goofball moved into a one bedroom apartment in the Tigerland subdivision of Baton Rouge with brown carpet and a yellow kitchen from which they would be kicked out six months later due to the presence of a cat.

Prosecution Rests In Bollinger Trial With No Evidence

The thing ought to be dismissed. From TLC:

An ecclesiastical court ruled July 16 in Syracuse, N.Y., that the Rt. Rev. Gladstone “Skip” Adams, Bishop of Central New York, would not be permitted to testify in the trial of the Rev. David Bollinger, former rector of St. Paul’s, Owego, who stands accused of financial misconduct and disobedience.

Before the trial began, Carter Strickland, the presiding judge, excluded most of the evidence and all of the witnesses for the prosecution because it missed the discovery phase filing deadline by more than two weeks. Bishop Adams was not on a witness list submitted to the court at least 60 days before the start of the trial.

In all, the court rejected nine motions by James Sparks, the church attorney for the diocese. After the ninth motion, the diocese rested its case. The only evidence it was allowed to submit were the allegations made in the presentment charges.

Court was in session for six hours however, there were numerous breaks during which the ecclesiastical judges conferred. The trial resumes Tuesday with the defense calling witnesses and offering evidence.

In previous interviews with The Living Church, Fr. Bollinger has maintained that the financial misconduct charges against him were part of an attempt to silence him after he repeatedly tried to have the diocese investigate the alleged sexual misconduct of a former rector of St. Paul’s. In April 2006 the priest voluntarily renounced his vows.

UPDATE: StandFirm has it that the case has been dismissed.