JCD 1149

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1269&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1100&EN=1181

As a matter of full disclosure, I was consulted by the counsel for the respondent about the case behind this request. As soon as the complaint came in, the bishops in the Philippines immediately took action on their own, sent in a retired bishop to take over, suspended the elected bishop, and proceeded to the committee on investigation. When the respondent bishop challenged their right to take over, the question was forwarded to the Judicial Council. The Council took jurisdiction and decided that the part of the passages of the Discipline granting authority to the college of bishops to act was unconstitutional. That part was that every bishop all over the world who were bishops in central conferences were a part of the college of bishops. That would have meant that the bishops from the Philippines would have needed to work in concert with that world-wide group.

By ruling as they did, the Council was authorizing the Philippine bishops to be the College of Bishops to undertake the supervision and handling of the case against the respondent bishop.

As in JCD 1135, I wish the Council had ordered a review of what happened to be reported back to them as a result of this decision.