Supreme Court ruling could affect St. John's dispute

In a ruling that could affect the dispute over the property of St. John’s church in Petaluma, the state Supreme Court unanimously decided on Monday that three Southern California parishes would need to surrender their church buildings to the U.S. Episcopal Church, which they severed relations with in 2006.

The Supreme Court decision pertains to St. David’s Church in North Hollywood, St. James Church in Newport Beach and All Saints Church in Long Beach. When the parishes split from the Episcopal Church in 2004, they claimed that they still owned church buildings and property.

The court ruled that Episcopal Church canons clearly state that property belongs to individual parishes only if they remain part of the larger church.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090108/COMMUNITY/901080274?Title=Supreme_Court_ruling_could_affect_St__John_s_dispute