THE WEEK IN REVIEW
June 15, 10:00 a.m.
This was the most important week in the history of the schism since the schism itself, October 15, 2012. It is useful now to take a moment and reflect on what has happened in the last few days and what it may mean for the future.
This was the most important week in the history of the schism since the schism itself, October 15, 2012. It is useful now to take a moment and reflect on what has happened in the last few days and what it may mean for the future.
First, I have to get something off my chest so I can think straight(er). Our government must stop persecuting children! It is ripping babies to teenagers from their parents, by the thousands, and sending these traumatized children to concentration camps. This is happening in the United States of America! This is legal terrorism against the most innocent and defenseless people imaginable. It is worthy of the worst regimes of modern history. If we have descended so low that we are now torturing children then we have no right to claim our religion or our political heritage, or even out humanity. We are the barbarians. We fought wars to stop countries from doing this sort of thing, yet here we are. The Gestapo and SS would be proud. Then, when I heard Attorney General Sessions defending this by quoting St. Paul's letter to the Romans, I could not take it any more. If we American allow this to go on, we will have no right to call ourselves Christians or democratic republicans. This persecution of children is beyond despicable. It is barbaric. It has to stop. Now, I feel better.
Let's get back and look at this week once again. A great deal has happened. Let's try to put it all in perspective.
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court released its decision to deny cert to the appeal of the Diocese of South Carolina. DSC had asked SCOTUS to review the South Carolina Supreme Court decision of August 2, 2017. That decision had affirmed the Episcopal Church trust control over 29 parishes and Camp St. Christopher. SCOTUS's denial of cert meant that the SCSC decision stands as the law. It cannot be appealed, ignored, or altered.
The Church diocese is well under way in getting the SCSC decision carried out. The circuit court is responsible for enacting the decision. Last month, the Church diocese went to the court and asked for enactment of the supreme court decision. They called for the court to appoint a Special Master to oversee the transition of the properties in question back to the Episcopal Church. We are now awaiting the response of the circuit court judge, Edgar Dickson. Presumably, that will come soon.
Naturally, both dioceses reacted strongly to the SCOTUS denial of cert. On Tuesday, the Church diocese (TECSC) held a meeting of the diocesan lay leadership at Grace Church Cathedral. I was privileged to listen in. It was, of course, a time of appropriate rejoicing. It began with a "Te Deum" in church, the first of which was the hymn "The Church's One Foundation" (by schisms rent asunder). The bishop and the chancellor spoke and assured everyone of resolution and work toward a full reconciliation of the old diocese. The 29 parishes are to be reintegrated into the Church; and moves are well underway for this. Numerous laypeople and some clergy of the secessionist faction have contacted the Church diocese inquiring about the process of reunification. At this point, it is a matter of waiting for the circuit court to carry out the supreme court decision.
The Church diocese announced today that the Rev. William Coyne is the new Missioner for Returning Congregations. He will assist parishes and missions in the reintegration process. Find the announcement about this here . This is indicative of the Church diocese's commitment to a full and fair reconciliation of the old diocese. For another voice of reconciliation be sure to read the letter of the Rev. Chris Huff. Find it here .
The Church diocese announced today that the Rev. William Coyne is the new Missioner for Returning Congregations. He will assist parishes and missions in the reintegration process. Find the announcement about this here . This is indicative of the Church diocese's commitment to a full and fair reconciliation of the old diocese. For another voice of reconciliation be sure to read the letter of the Rev. Chris Huff. Find it here .
The independent diocese reeled from the news and flailed about all week seeking a response. I wrote several blog pieces about this, so I will not repeat them here. In general, DSC reacted in defiance of the law. They claimed the SCSC decision was invalid and they would keep on fighting in court. The diocese held a meeting of clergy on Thursday. If DSC has issued a press release about this, I have not seen it. One might imagine it was more along the lines of denial and resistance.
The big question now relates to the laity and clergy of the 29 Episcopal church that will be returned soon to the Episcopal Church bishop. DSC has been working since last December to organize an exodus from the buildings to keep congregations together under DSC. They issued a plan called a "Template" as a guide and held "teaching" missions in March, April, and May at St. Philip's and St. Michael's. These were recorded and distributed among the DSC parishes. The point of the missions was to demonize the Episcopal Church and pressure communicants to abandon their home buildings rather than return to an apostate church. 13,000 people are now caught in the middle between DSC's campaign and the coming reunification. We can expect the pressure to intensify over the next few months.
In spite of all its flailing about in desperation, DSC has to face the fact that the SCSC decision of August 2, 2017 is the law of the land. It will not be changed. The lower courts are required to enact supreme court decisions. It is just a matter of time before the circuit court orders enforcement of the supreme court's ruling. DSC's opinions about the decision now are irrelevant under the law. As I have said, I suspect DSC's attack tactic against the SCSC order is meant for local consumption. It is to de-legitimize the decision in the minds of the 13,000 so that they will stay with DSC.
One of the DSC allies even brought back the old smear against Justice Kaye Hearn. After all this time, after all that has happened, they just cannot let it go. Attacking Hearn is irrelevant to the matter now; but it is still unfortunate. However, it does bring up an interesting point about the history of the litigation, the role of women judges.
It occurs to me that the legal war was essentially driven by the roles of three women, Diane Goodstein, Jean Toal, and Kaye Hearn. They were central to the outcome of the litigation. Goodstein was the circuit court judge who just seemed overwhelmed by the whole thing. She had the lawyers stop using the term Episcopal church because it was too confusing. The DSC lawyers dominated the whole circuit court trial and got from Goodstein a favorable decision, that, in retrospect, was far too much of a good thing. It was so over-the-top for DSC that it was ridiculed to death in the state supreme court. Not a single justice defended it.
When the matter got to the state supreme court, the Chief Justice, Jean Toal, was the opposite of Goodstein. Toal completely controlled and dominated the entire hearing. She raked Runyan over the coals about the excesses of the circuit court trial and decision, even though she really agreed with him on the All Saints case which she had written herself.
Kaye Hearn was (is) a justice on the SC supreme court who also happened to be a member of an Episcopal Church congregation. This was well-known. The DSC lawyers did not ask her to recuse herself. In the decision, which came out nearly two years after the hearing, she was one of the three justices to side with the Episcopal Church. She did not decide the outcome. The majority decision was written by Justice Pleicones. It was Chief Justice Beatty who cast the tie-breaking vote and gave the victory to TEC. Yet, after the decision came out on August 2, 2017, DSC started an all-out campaign against Hearn trying to remove her part of the decision and get her off the case in the future. This would have altered the outcome to give the victory to DSC. The state supreme court was repelled by this extraordinary smear campaign against one of their colleagues and united around Hearn. They denied a rehearing, refused to removed Hearn from the case, and then, to boot, publicly chastised the DSC lawyers for their treatment of Hearn. It was Toal, the other woman on the court who came to the strongest defense of Hearn. The attack on Hearn only hurt the DSC cause. Kaye Hearn, the steel magnolia, prevailed. So, I think it is interesting to note that the history of the litigation between DSC and TEC hinged on three women. The role that each played was crucial to the outcome. We can conclude that DSC did not do very well in its interaction with these women.
When the matter got to the state supreme court, the Chief Justice, Jean Toal, was the opposite of Goodstein. Toal completely controlled and dominated the entire hearing. She raked Runyan over the coals about the excesses of the circuit court trial and decision, even though she really agreed with him on the All Saints case which she had written herself.
Kaye Hearn was (is) a justice on the SC supreme court who also happened to be a member of an Episcopal Church congregation. This was well-known. The DSC lawyers did not ask her to recuse herself. In the decision, which came out nearly two years after the hearing, she was one of the three justices to side with the Episcopal Church. She did not decide the outcome. The majority decision was written by Justice Pleicones. It was Chief Justice Beatty who cast the tie-breaking vote and gave the victory to TEC. Yet, after the decision came out on August 2, 2017, DSC started an all-out campaign against Hearn trying to remove her part of the decision and get her off the case in the future. This would have altered the outcome to give the victory to DSC. The state supreme court was repelled by this extraordinary smear campaign against one of their colleagues and united around Hearn. They denied a rehearing, refused to removed Hearn from the case, and then, to boot, publicly chastised the DSC lawyers for their treatment of Hearn. It was Toal, the other woman on the court who came to the strongest defense of Hearn. The attack on Hearn only hurt the DSC cause. Kaye Hearn, the steel magnolia, prevailed. So, I think it is interesting to note that the history of the litigation between DSC and TEC hinged on three women. The role that each played was crucial to the outcome. We can conclude that DSC did not do very well in its interaction with these women.
So, what now? Where do we stand at the end of this week? I doubt that much will change in the near future. The circuit court will certainly order the enactment of the supreme court decision and, presumably, under a Special Master. The reunification will be a very complicated process and will require a lot of time-consuming work trying to straighten out the affairs of each one of the 29 parishes. I expect this will take months and will be handled on an individual basis.
Meanwhile we are waiting on other legal actions. In the circuit court the DSC is petitioning for "Betterments" payments. TECSC is aksing for dismissal, which I expect they will get. In the federal court, the judge, Richard Gergel, well known for efficiency, will be moving along toward a trial, I predict before the end of the year. This is to determine which side is entitled to inherit the entity of the old diocese (titles, legal rights, assets). Odds are strongly in favor of TECSC.
Once the Special Master finishes the reintegration of the 29 parishes and the federal court resolves the issue of the diocese, matters should start to calm down. Of course, the losing side in the federal case can appeal to the U.S. Appeals Court in Richmond. What they do remains to be seen.
In the short run, the focus is on the return of the 29 parishes. Sooner rather than later the clergy and people of these churches will have to make their choices. My thoughts and prayers are with them in this difficult time.
What will happen to the secessionist faction in the future? Right now they have six parishes. If they lose in the federal court, they will relinquish all ownership of the pre-schism diocese. They will have to start from scratch in building a new diocese. This will be difficult, to say the least. The future for them does not look promising at this point, but I suppose they could go on as "the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina" even though they will not be part of the Anglican Communion.
What will happen to the secessionist faction in the future? Right now they have six parishes. If they lose in the federal court, they will relinquish all ownership of the pre-schism diocese. They will have to start from scratch in building a new diocese. This will be difficult, to say the least. The future for them does not look promising at this point, but I suppose they could go on as "the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina" even though they will not be part of the Anglican Communion.
Meanwhile, I am here trying to impart knowledge about what is going on in the schism. If you really want to know the history of the schism, my book about it is readily available. At 300,000 words it will be all you need to know. Critics say it is long, dense, and detailed. I agree. Get it at the Grace bookstore or order it from Amazon. On Kindle it is $10. It is also available in paperback and hardback.
I will go on with my blog. Apparently a lot of people read it. It has had 26,000 hits this week. I am glad people find it of use. As always, I encourage readers to email me with questions and comments. Countless ones did this week and I value every one. Every person is equally important to me. My address is above.
The weekend is here. We all deserve a break. My one and only grandchild arrives tomorrow for a visit. I can hardly wait even though it means a trip to the Atlanta airport, my least favorite place in the world. I hope you too have a good weekend.
