Saturday, October 29, 2016

Church panel won't dismiss charges against bishop who tired to sell Newport Beach chapel

From Orange County-

A hearing panel of the national Episcopal Church in Chicago on Friday denied a motion filed by the Episcopal Bishop of Los Angeles, J. Jon Bruno, to dismiss misconduct charges filed against him by a Newport Beach congregation that has been left without a home after the bishop sold the church building to a developer and locked out members.

The five-member panel consisting of three bishops, a priest and a layperson also set March 28-30 as dates for a disciplinary hearing to be held against Bruno in Los Angeles.

Robert Williams, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, declined to comment “since both civil litigation and canonical proceedings continue in these matters.”

The 71-year-old St. James the Great congregation has been locked out of the property since July 2015, even after the planned sale to the developer, who wanted to build 22 luxury townhomes where the 40,000-square-foot church building stands on Via Lido, fell through.


More here-

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/congregation-733694-church-bishop.html

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