Press Statement: South Carolina Files Suit Against the Episcopal Church

Anglican Ink:

Press Statement from the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina:

One of America’s Oldest Dioceses Files Lawsuit to Prevent The Episcopal Church from Seizing Local Parishes and ‘Hijacking’ their Identities Lawsuit filed to defend more than $500 million in property from ‘blatant land grab’ as TEC seeks control of Diocesan holdings and parishes.

“Like our colonial forefathers, we are pursuing the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit, not as it is  dictated to us by a self-proclaimed religious authority who threatens to take our property unless we relinquish our beliefs.” Bishop Mark Lawrence

St. George, SC, January 4, 2013–The Diocese of South Carolina, the Trustees of the Diocese and congregations representing the vast majority of its baptized members today filed suit in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church to protect the Diocese’s real and personal property and that of its parishes.

The suit also asks the court to prevent The Episcopal Church from infringing on the protected marks of the Diocese, including its seal and its historical names, and to prevent the church from assuming the Diocese’s identity, which was established long before The Episcopal Church’s creation. We seek to protect more than $500 million in real property, including churches, rectories and other buildings that South Carolinians built, paid for, maintained and expanded – and in some cases died to protect – without any support from The Episcopal Church,” said the Rev. Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary.

“Many of our parishes are among the oldest operating churches in the nation.  They and this Diocese predate the establishment of The Episcopal Church. We want to protect these properties from a blatant land grab.” The Diocese of South Carolina was established in 1785 as an independent, voluntary association that grew from the missionary work of the Church of England. It was one of nine dioceses that voluntarily joined together to form The Episcopal Church in October 1789, which eventually became an American province in the worldwide Anglican Communion, also a voluntary association. When the Diocese disassociated from The Episcopal Church we didn’t become a new entity,” Canon Lewis explained…

Read more.

Also, for those interested:

A Message to Clergy in the Diocese of South Carolina Regarding the Declaratory Judgment

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

By now you are aware that today the Diocese of South Carolina, the Trustees of the Diocese and congregations representing the vast majority of its baptized members filed suit in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church to protect the Diocese’s real and personal property and that of its parishes.

We have developed a number of background resources you may find helpful in explaining this situation to your parish. These items include:

A letter from Bishop Lawrence – in the form of a bulletin insert

Stewardship of the Gospel – Stewardship of the Diocese (a theological reflection)

A Media Release

List of Plaintiffs Participating

Glossary of Terms

Timeline of Events

Letters of Support/Articles of Interest

These may all be found here.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

In Christ’s service,
–(The Rev. Canon) Jim Lewis is Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina

Germany to Ban Sex with Animals

Germany is about to ban sex with animals, including the ‘pimping’ of farm animals for sex.

Stand Firm:

Like I’ve said, The Episcopal Church has voted to purport to bless the sexual activities of those who have two currently faddish, minority sexual attractions, and ignored others who also hold minority sexual attractions—scores of different minority sexual attractions—which are not so popular.

Read it all over at the Telegraph:

Agriculture minister Ilse Aigner has agreed to change the law to make it illegal for people to “use (animals) for their own sexual activities or sexual acts of third parties” – which also bans the ‘pimping’ of animals to others.

However the move has aroused the ire of zoophile group ZETA.

Lobbyist Michael Kiok, who lives with his dog Cassie, told the newspaper there were more than 100,000 zoophiles in Germany.

“Mere morals have no place in law,” he said.

Mr Kiok said he was worried that if the law took effect the authorities would try to take away his dog.

Disgusting.

 

Why America? Why…

31 School shootings in America since Columbine, only 14 in the rest of the world combined.

Source

 

Australia: Sex-abuse Victim Sentenced for ‘Revenge’ Burglaries at Catholic Churches

Sounds more like a copout:

A man sexually abused by a priest as a six-year-old who exacted revenge – unleashing his “deeply entrenched hatred” for the Catholic order by burgling dozens of its churches across suburban Melbourne – was today jailed for a maximum of four years.

A judge earlier heard the man’s “rancour and rage” against the Catholic Church surfaced 20 years ago in South Australia when he was first convicted of the offence of “sacrilege”.

His barrister told the County Court earlier this month that after his client’s removal a year ago as a worker with the St Vincent de Paul Society, the “rage and anger that has so dominated his life took over and he became unstable”.

The barrister Mark Regan said the man, now 44, had a “deeply entrenched belief system of the wrong perpetrated against him” by the priest and the Catholic Church which he resented.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to 59 charges of mostly aggravated burglary, burglary and theft that involved more than 30 churches, parish houses, a respite school and a presbytery.

Prosecutor Catharine Sedgwick detailed how the man offended against “soft targets” over seven months from Camberwell to Dandenong, Essendon to Ringwood and Epping, Balwyn and Coburg until his arrest last May.

Ms Sedgwick said he ransacked offices and stole money from safes, cash boxes, donation envelopes and raffle payments, sometimes while priests slept.

He told police he felt his crimes were “payback” for being molested and was handed a phone book in custody to mark the churches he burgled.

Mr Regan distinguished the nature of the burglaries from domestic-related, residential targets and submitted the man acted covertly and avoided confrontations.

His mother confirmed in evidence her son was about six when he told her a priest had molested him by “playing with parts of my body he shouldn’t be touching”.

She reported the matter to police but “nothing was ever done” and told the judge much of his obsessiveness and unresolved anger stemmed from that.

“I should have done a lot more than I did,” she lamented.

The judge today told the man he had harboured a great resentment against the church.

She said that on the balance of probabilities, there was “force behind” his assertions about being molested as a young child.

The judge said that the man cannot keep “utilising” his past as a reason for offending.

She described the offences as non-confrontational, and the impact had been of property loss only, but the seriousness was in the repitition of the offences.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of two and a half years.

But yes, it would indeed seem as if there are various ways in which one can exact your ‘revenge’ Down-Under…

 

Vatileaks Trial Begins

The Term ‘Anglican’ is Not a Registered Trademark

Via Anglican Samizdat:

The Anglican Network in Canada church, St. George’s, is planning on a new building in Burlington.

From the Burlington Post:

The city’s planning and building department recommended that a 0.6 hectare piece of employment land at 4691 Palladium Way be rezoned to allow the construction of a place of worship.

The Post has learned it will be an Anglican church.

The site is located just west of Appleby Line, bordering Hwy. 407, in Alton.

Community development committee approved the recommendation.

It will go before council on Sept. 4.

Permission for the rezoning was granted at the September 4^th meeting.

Notice that the Burlington Post reported that the new building will be for an Anglican Church. This does not sit well with the Diocese of Niagara, a self-proclaimed inclusive and affirming diocese. A number of its clergy lament that the word Anglican is not a registered trademark, so, much as they would like to, they don’t have exclusive – and I do apologise for my blatant and unfeeling use of the “e” word –  use of it in the Niagara region.

From here:

We want to clarify the new church is being proposed by the Anglican Network in Canada, a group that broke away from the Anglican Church of Canada in 2009 to protest our actions in favour of the full inclusion of homosexual persons and the affirmation of their committed relationships.

The six existing Anglican churches serving Burlington are all part of the Anglican Church of Canada. We are diverse, vibrant faith communities focused on welcoming all and making a positive difference in Burlington.

We know some of our parishioners were confused by the article.

The term “Anglican” is not a registered trademark and its usage is not restricted. Nonetheless, we hope future reporting of this story can make a distinction  between the two groups.

Stephen Hopkins, St. Christopher’s Anglican Church

Stuart Pike, St. Luke’s Anglican Church (Ontario Street)

Derek Anderson, St. Matthew’s Anglican Church

Bahman Kalantari, St. John’s Anglican Church

Jeff and Sue Ann Ward, St. Luke’s Anglican Church (Dundas Street/Bronte Road)

Jean Archbell, St. Elizabeth’s Anglican Church

Atheists Sue Museum for Displaying 9/11 Cross

Angry God haters…

American Atheists have filed a suit against the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation because the WTCMF is displaying a cross formed from some steel beams left after the building collapsed.

The fact that the cross was on display for five years as a symbol of hope to thousands of people makes it an historically significant artefact worthy of display in a museum.

That is not good enough for today’s atheists whose hatred for the God in which they disbelieve is so bitter that they cannot countenance any reminder that billions of people know that he is real. As Kenneth Bronstein, New York City Atheists President pointed out: “That a worker resurrected one of these girders and dubbed it a Christian cross is an affront to all of us who believe in our constitutionally based right to have public places free of religious propaganda and religious coercion.” That the cross is an affront to those who are perishing is not exactly a new idea, but that its display is somehow religious coercion defies all the rationality that atheists are so eager to claim as their own.

Contemporary atheists will not rest until all expression of Christianity is expunged from our civilisation and its citizens’ lives are rendered as narrow, unimaginative, and vacuously meaningless as theirs.

From here:

The American Atheists organization has sued the National September 11 Memorial and Museum over the installation of the “9/11 cross” in the museum. The organization’s president, David Silverman, insists that it will not “allow this travesty to occur in our country.”

The 20-foot cross — two steel beams that had held together as the building collapsed — was discovered in the rubble of Ground Zero on September 13, 2001, by construction worker Frank Silecchia. The 9/11 cross became a venerated object, and many of those who were searching for survivors and clearing debris from the “pit” took solace from its existence. On October 4, 2001, it was moved to a pedestal on Church Street, where it was treated as a shrine by visitors to Ground Zero for the next five years. In October 2006 it was removed to storage, and in July 2011 it was returned to the site for installation in the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Russian Orthodox Church Asks Authorities to Show Mercy on Pussy Riot

Officials from Russia’s Orthodox Church have appealed to the country’s authorities to “show mercy” on the three members of Pussy Riot sentenced to two years in jail for a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s main cathedral.

­“Casting no doubt on the legitimacy of the court’s decision, we appeal to the public authorities to show mercy, within the law, on the convicted in the hope they will never repeat such blasphemous actions,” the Russian Orthodox Church’s High Council said in a statement.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich have each been sentenced to two years in a medium-security prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

“We think the words of pity for the convicted which have been coming from the Church’s children and other people are natural. It is necessary to divide the sin from sinner and reprimand the first while hoping the latter will improve,” said the Orthodox Church.

The Church condemned “the intentional act of blasphemy” as well as the “rude hostility to millions of peopleand their feelings” they say the Pussy Riot manifested back in February. They also pointed out that blasphemy which qualifies as “a sin against God” can only be forgiven after “sincere repentance.”

Still, calls were made on people hurt by the punk performance to abstain from revenge or violence.

This is the first official statement Russia’s Orthodox Church has made since the trial began. Like President Vladimir Putin, the top clerics refrained from remarks that could affect the judge’s decision. Nevertheless, Putin ventured a small comment on August 3 saying the three girls should not be judged too harshly.

In February, Pussy Riot performed a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. Dressed in bright, short dresses and balaclavas, they sang a song with controversial lyrics, slamming a perceived merger of state with the Church, and called on the Virgin Mary to banish Vladimir Putin, who was Prime Minister at that time.

Source

So the above seems to run a little against the common thread that has the leader of the Russian church, Patriarch Krill, watching a YouTube clip of Pussy Riot doing what they did and calling President Putin demanding action against them…

See also: Pussy Riot verdict draws criticism around globe, here.

 

British Judge Approves Christian Conversion

Of a 10 year old Jewish girl.

(JTA) – A British judge has allowed a 10-year-old Jewish child to convert to Christianity against her mother’s wishes.

In November 2011 the mother of the girl applied for a court order to prevent the father from having the girl baptized until the girl turned 16, according to the London Jewish Chronicle. The mother argued the girl had been “brainwashed” and was too young to change faith.

Judge John Platt ruled on Wednesday at Romford County Court in Essex that both the girl and her younger brother could convert to Christianity.

Both parents of the children were Jewish at the time of the girl’s birth, the report said. The father converted to Christianity after the breakdown of his marriage.

The judge reportedly said he decided that “the best thing” for the girl would be to be allowed to start baptism classes as soon as they could be arranged “and that you are baptized as a Christian as soon as your minister feels you are ready”.

The court heard a written submission from Odom Brandman, a Chabad rabbi, who said the case was “extremely disturbing”.

The Jewish Chronicle quoted Brandman as saying, “It is unfair to any child to put them under this pressure and to do something unnatural to their soul.”

Australia: Priests Could be Ordered to Report Crime Confessions

The prospect of government forcing priests to report what was said in confession is the sign of a “police state mentality”, says a priest and law professor.

News.com.au:

Hundreds of years of Catholic tradition in the confessional could be overturned by Victoria’s inquiry into child sex abuse.

Priests would be ordered to reveal crimes told to them in private confessions under one proposal before the inquiry.

But priests say they will resist being forced to reveal secrets of the confessional.

Priest and law professor Father Frank Brennan said the move would be a restriction on religious freedom.

“If a parliamentary inquiry were to recommend a law by parliament saying that priests were forced to disclose anything revealed to them in the sacrament of confession I think that would be a serious interference with the right of religious freedom,” Father Brennan said today. 

“Indeed it would be a very sad day if we moved to a police state mentality, it’s almost of Russian dimensions to suggest Catholic priests would have to reveal to state authorities what went on under the seal of the confessional.

“I am one of the priests who, if such a law were enacted, would disobey it and if need be I would go to jail.”

Father Brennan said disclosures to priests in the confessional were different to those made to doctors or counsellors, or even when a priest was acting in a counsellor role.

“If it were in the sacred realm of the sacrament of confession which in Catholic theology is akin to the penitent being in conversation with God, where the priest is simply an agent, then definitely the state has no role of interference in that.”

Father Brennan said he expected police would have other more important leads when investigating crime than what was said in the confessional.

“They probably don’t have much of an idea about what people confess in confessions anyway, I think most of it, if not all of it would be of no interest to police.”

A parliamentary committee also will look at radical new laws that would see bishops face criminal charges for the misconduct of their priests.

Founder and coordinator of Melbourne Victims Collective, Helen Last, welcomed the proposal.

“I think it’s great, I think it’s very important,” Ms Last said today.

The Melbourne Collective works with survivors of clergy and/or religious abuse and Ms Last said she had recently spoken with a survivor of alleged abuse by a Catholic priest who had reported it in confessions over a 10-year period.

“She spoke to them, while the abuse was happening, in the confessional … many of the priests just told her to stay away from him, one priest fell asleep while she was telling him and others basically said ‘go away and change your behaviour’,” Ms Last said.

“Priests need to be mandated to report from within the confessional and without the confessional and they urgently need to be trained about appropriately referring victims.”

Submissions are being accepted for the inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious groups.

Ms Last said the collective was working with 100 people to help them complete submissions.

The inquiry was set up by the Baillieu Government in April.

The inquiry is being conducted by State Parliament’s Family and Community Development Committee, chaired by Liberal MP Georgie Crozier, with Labor MP Frank McGuire as deputy.

A guide released by the committee asks those making submissions to consider whether mandatory reporting rules should be imposed on the confessional.

“Should the sacrament of the Catholic confessional remain sacrosanct in these circumstances?” the paper says.

It also asks whether tough new laws should be imposed on the church hierarchy.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne declined to comment on the guide, saying it do not want to pre-empt the work of the inquiry.

“The Catholic Church will co-operate with the inquiry,” archdiocese spokesman James O’Farrell said.

But the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, has previously said the confessional must remain sacrosanct.

In Ireland, where similar laws have been introduced, priests have vowed to defy the orders, which could see them jailed for up to 10 years.

The Reverend Father John Walshe, chairman of the Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, said the confessional was not a place of counselling.

“The universal response of priests to any attempt to demand they pass on information they have received in the confessional will be absolutely negative,” said Fr Walshe, parish priest of St Patrick’s, Mentone.

“Priests have in the past history of the church been martyred for refusing to break the seal of the confessional andI believe that priests today would continue to do the same.”

A spokesman for the Baillieu Government said the committee had sought submissions on a wide range of issues.

The sex abuse inquiry is due to present its report to State Parliament by April.

Australia’s cardinal George Pell has been approached for comment.