The California parishes say they'll continue to fight. From the Long Beach Telegram-
The lawyer representing a local church attempting to retain its property after breaking away from the national Episcopal Church says reports of the demise of the parish in Belmont Heights are premature.
On Monday, the California Supreme Court upheld an appeals court ruling that St. James Parish of Newport Beach, which broke away from the Episcopal Church in conjunction with All Saints of Belmont Heights and St. David's Church of North Hollywood in 2004, did not have the right to retain the property when it disaffiliated.
While that ruling has been widely interpreted as a defeat for all three of the breakaway churches, Lynn Moyer says that's not the case.
"Our case hasn't been heard yet," said Moyer, who represents All Saints and St. David's. "This isn't over by any means."
Although St. James, All Saints and St. David's all appeared together in Orange County Superior Court when legal proceedings first began in 2004, the appeals to the state Supreme Court by St. James and All Saints/St. David's were filed separately.
While the principles of law are the same in all three cases and some believe the rulings will necessarily be the same, Moyer says specific facts in the three cases differ, which could lead to different outcomes.
In its unanimous ruling against St. James, the court wrote "Applying the neutral principles of the law approach, we conclude that the general church, not the local church, owns the property.
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_11390832
1 comment:
Although he wasn't an active member of the parish, my father was buried from St. David's in North Hollywood in 1995, and at that time I had the chance to get to know Jose Poche, the rector there. An exceptionally kind and thoughtful priest who has had a wonderful ministry. This not related particularly to the story--just a personal side note.
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