Church of the Word
ST JOHN'S BANK ACCOUNTS FROZEN

Connecticut 6: Bank Freezes Accounts of St. John’s, Bristol
08/16/2005

The first lawsuit between the Bishop of Connecticut and the vestry of St. John’s, Bristol, was filed in early August when Farmington Savings Bank lodged an interpleader with the New Britain Superior Court, asking it to determine ownership of the parish checking accounts.

Around Aug. 1 a representative of the diocese contacted the Farmington Savings Bank asking that new signature cards be prepared for the parish bank account giving nominees of the diocese control of the funds. At approximately the same time, St. John’s vestry contacted the bank asking that new account numbers be assigned and that the bank statements be mailed to a new address.

Farmington Savings Bank responded to the conflicting requests by placing the funds in court hands by asking for an interpleader. An interpleader is a legal proceeding that allows someone to compel parties making the same claim against him to litigate the matter between themselves.

A spokesman for the diocese told The Living Church the Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

The American Anglican Council released a statement on Aug. 12 criticizing Bishop Smith’s actions saying it was a “flagrant abuse” of canon law. The AAC argued that the canons of the General Convention and canons of the Diocese of Connecticut vest authority in the vestry as “agents and legal representatives of the parish in all matters concerning its corporate property.”

While members of the congregation are free to come and go from St. John’s, members of the vestry have been forbidden access to parish records and files. Following Bishop Smith’s July 13 seizure of the church building and parish assets, the diocesan-appointed administrator, Edward Siebert, took control of the parish post office box and directed the Bristol postmaster to direct all mail into diocesan hands.

“Neither vestry members nor the treasurers have access to bills or the means to pay them, thereby inhibiting them from discharging canonical duties,” according to the AAC's press release. The unilateral assumption of the vestry’s duties sets a dangerous precedent that “establishes a pattern for financial and legal responsibility, and by extension liability, to be assumed by bishops and dioceses across the nation. In this scenario, bishops would be responsible for all liabilities, contractual obligations, claims, lawsuits and any litigation,” the release said.

Bishop Smith’s decision to claim all the assets of St. John’s comes at approximately the same time the Vatican has issued new guidelines for Roman Catholic parishes and dioceses. The Catholic World News Service reported on Aug. 11 that the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome ruled that parish assets cannot be seized unilaterally by a diocese, and can be turned over to a diocese only with the consent of the pastors and their parish finance councils.

The decision came in response to an appeal by seven parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston that appealed the diocesan decision to close the churches and liquidate the parish assets. The Vatican ruled that when a parish is merged into another parish, the assets of the one become part of the new parish, not the diocese. The properties of a closed parish can be surrendered to the archdiocese only with the consent of the new parish administration, the Congregation for the Clergy said.

This article comes from The Living Church
http://www.livingchurch.org/

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