From the Office of Public Affairs:
NOTICE OF HEARING
The Rt. Rev. William H. Love
June 12, 2020
The Title IV Hearing Panel appointed by the President of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops in the matter concerning the Rt. Rev. William H. Love, Bishop of Albany (Respondent), will hold a hearing on Friday, June 12, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. (EST) via remote electronic means, Zoom. The hearing participants will receive a meeting invitation in advance of the hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to provide an opportunity for oral argument on the Motion of The Episcopal Church (“TEC”) for Summary Judgment and the Cross Motion of the Rt. Rev. Bishop William H. Love (“Bishop Love”) for Summary Judgment in the case of In the Matter of The Episcopal Church v. The Rt. Rev. William H. Love.
In accordance with Canon IV. 13.8 of the Canons of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, the hearing will be open to members of the public who may view the proceedings at https://www.facebook.com/events/265211354592608/ . One need not have a Facebook account to view the proceedings.
Tentative Agenda
The purpose of the hearing is to provide an opportunity for oral argument on the Motion of TEC for Summary Judgment and the Cross Motion of Bishop Love in this matter. A copy of all of the briefs and exhibits filed by both parties in the matter are available at https://episcopalchurch.org/title-iv/active-cases .
The tentative agenda for the Hearing is as follows:
1. Welcome & Opening Prayer
2. Overview of the Proceeding
3. Argument by Church Attorney: overall time allotment, 45 minutes; counsel may reserve time for response.
4. Argument by Counsel for the Respondent: overall time allotment, 45 minutes; may reserve time for a response.
Rules of Order for the Hearing
The Hearing Panel has approved the following Rules of Order and Decorum for this hearing:
Preliminary Statement
The proceedings in this proceeding under Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church involve matters of high seriousness and great importance to the Respondent and to the Church. We ask that all persons who are present for this proceeding conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the seriousness of the proceeding and respects the Hearing Panel, the Respondent the Church, and counsel for both parties.
The Episcopal Cafe has previously reported on the background to this matter, which stems from Bishop Love’s rejection of General Convention 2018 Resolution B012, which extended provisions for marriage equality across the church, “in order to fulfill the intention of this resolution that all couples have convenient and reasonable local congregational access to these rites.” See further here and here.
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The documents from both sides are available and repay close study. At issue is the status of a B102 resolution that was expressly written so as not to intend BCP revision. We have come to a point where resolutions from GC are being made to have some kind of force of law, without any effort to modify canons or constitution, in the ways that has traditionally been the case in TEC down the years. Leave aside whether you agree with +Love’s position on SSM (obviously people here don’t). The issue being determined tomorrow is one of governance, and the status of the BCP, the Constitution and Canons, vis-a-vis single resolutions emerging at this or that GC.