Breakaway Episcopal churches in South Carolina can keep property: judge

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Breakaway Episcopal churches in South Carolina can keep property: judge

BY HARRIET MCLEOD
CHARLESTON, S.C. Wed Feb 4, 2015 9:31am EST

(Reuters) - A breakaway group of Episcopal churches in South Carolina can retain its diocese name after leaving the U.S. Episcopal Church and keep historic church real estate worth $500 million, a judge has ruled.

The Diocese of South Carolina, which consists of dozens of parishes, was within its rights to leave the national church in 2012 after the larger organization moved to ordain gay clergy and bless same-sex marriages, Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein said in a ruling Tuesday evening.

The judge rejected the Episcopal Church's argument that it had legal interest in the Diocese of South Carolina's property because it was a hierarchical structure embracing the dioceses below it.

The diocese owns real estate including historic properties such as St. Philip's Church, first built in 1681, and St. Michael's Church, built the following century, both in Charleston, according to court documents.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/04/us-usa-south-carolina-episcopal-idUSKBN0L81N520150204

[cbayer]

1. I am surprised at the outcome, but divorce is divorce, I guess.

Sometimes its better to just let your bigoted mate move on. Interesting to note that they did this during the civil war to join the south.

[okasha]

2. There willl be an appeal.

Given that an Episcopal Church owns all the Church property within its various dioceses, this judge has 1. sanctioned theft; and 2. ruled that the breakaways constitute the true Episcopal Church, which effectively tears up the1st. Amendment.

[cbayer]

3. Ah, I did not know that, but it seemed like a surprising ruling.

I wonder what the judge was basing this one.

[rug]

6. Here's the 46 page decision.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/5e440d48-a1ae-4902-b283-8866a2e2596f

From the first sentence it looks like she treated it purely as a matter of corporate law.

[hrmjustin]

4. This judge must have been a RWNJ.

The Episcopal Church will win on appeal.

[kwassa]

7. Not necessarily. We've lost in Texas and Illinois at the state supreme court level.

while winning in most other states.

The US Supremes refused to pick up the Episcopal church appeal on the Texas decision, which means it will stay. Property decisions are usually decided at the state level, unfortunately.

I think the final score is that we've won most challenges, and lost a few. The same culture war playing out in the rest of society also plays out in these churches, and in the state courts. It is about the liberals vs. the conservatives, and in conservative states, they win.

[pinto]

5. This seems tro be the gist of the Judge's ruling -

The Court found that “the Constitution and Canons of TEC have no provisions which state that a member diocese cannot voluntarily withdraw its membership.” The ruling found that had there been such a provision, it would have violated the Diocese's “constitutionally-protected right” to freedom of association. “With the freedom to associate goes its corollary, the freedom to disassociate,” Judge Goodstein said.

http://www.counton2.com/story/28017090/court-ruling-diocese-of-sc-and-parish-churches-keep-their-historic-property