Episcopal Church Awarded Fort Worth Diocese Property

The Episcopal Church (TEC) has successfully asserted a claim to the property of a Texas diocese that broke away to affiliate with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.  In The Episcopal Church v. Salazar, (TX Dist. Ct., Jan. 20, 2011), a Texas state trial court held that property of the Diocese of Fort Worth belongs to the individuals who remain loyal to the hierarchical church body. It ordered defendants to turn the property over to TEC within 60 days, along with an accounting of all Diocesan assets. The court also ordered defendants to stop holding themselves out as leaders of the Diocese, and called for the parties to submit a more detailed declaratory order within ten days. (The order issued last week, apparently drafted by plaintiffs, includes paragraphs crossed out by the court before it was signed.)  The break-away group under the leadership Bishop Jack Iker issued a statement announcing it will appeal the ruling. Episcopal News Service and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram report on the court's decision. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to John Chilton for the lead.]