News for Week Ending 4/8/2013

Welsh church to discuss women bishops

The Church in Wales will entertain arguments for and against women bishops when its Governing Body meets April 10–11, 2013. Additional details can be found here.

South Carolina groups vie for legal advantage

The split in the Diocese of South Carolina has resulted in litigation in state court instigated by the schismatic group led by former Bishop of South Carolina Mark Lawrence and litigation in federal court instigated by those who have remained in The Episcopal Church. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) Presumably, each group has chosen the court thought to be more sympathetic to its case. That has became more apparent as each side has sought to have its favored court take the lead in the legal dispute.

On March 28, 2013, the Lawrence faction filed a motion with the Charleston District of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina asking the court to either dismiss the federal suit brought by the Episcopalians or defer any action on the litigation pending adjudication by the South Carolina court. On April 3, the Episcopal parties filed a notice of removal with the U.S. District Court. The notice is essentially a request for the federal court to assert jurisdiction over the action originally brought by the Lawrence faction in the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas, County of Dorchester, First Judicial Circuit.

The latest legal moves are described in a press release from the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Links to other legal documents related to the state and federal litigation can be found here.