Court Says Diocesan Assets Belong To ECUSA Loyalists

In Calvary Episcopal Church v. Duncan, (PA Com. Pl, Oct. 6, 2009), a Pennsylvania trial court ruled that under a 2005 settlement agreement, some $15 million in church endowments, bank accounts, and other resources are property of the Pittsburgh Episcopal diocese that remains affiliated with the Episcopal Church USA. The court said that the language of the settlement is "clear and unambiguous" that these assets do not belong to the congregations that broke away and affiliated with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. The ruling did not deal with questions of properties titled in the names of individual parishes. In a statement after the ruling was handed down, leaders of the diocese that remained with ECUSA said: "We must now focus on reconciliation and welcoming back anyone who wants to return to our Episcopal Diocese." In a pastoral letter , Archbishop Robert Duncan, leader of the break-away group, emphasized that the decision only affected diocesan assets, and not parish properties or funds. He said that the court's decision violates assurances that the issue of which group is the "true diocese" was not part of this case. Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on the decision.