This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
Powered by
By Linda Bloom*
6:00 P.M. EST November 1, 2011 | SAN DIEGO (UMNS)
A UMNS web-only photo illustration.
A continuing dispute over a suspended bishop in the Philippines has
led to three new rulings from The United Methodist Church’s top court.
The rulings, issued after the Oct. 26-28 fall meeting of the United Methodist Judicial Council,
upheld decisions of law by Bishop Daniel Arichea Jr. about the
validity of specific 2011 annual (regional) conference sessions.
These decisions of law, the council pointed out in its rulings,
present as “a further unfortunate set of circumstances and series of
events in the Philippines Central Conference centering upon the
processing of complaints against and the status of a suspended bishop.”
The central conference is a church region comprising the Philippines’ three episcopal areas,
each led by a different bishop. The episcopal areas encompass the
annual conferences, which are smaller regions than the central
conference.
Since the 2011 annual conference sessions, the bishop in question —
Bishop Lito C. Tangonan of the Manila Episcopal Area — has been
relieved of his office by the United Methodist Council of Bishops. The
council’s executive committee took that action in July, according to
Arichea, who continues to serve as interim bishop for the Manila Area.
Tangonan was elected bishop in November 2008 at the age of 51,
and began a four-year term on Jan. 1, 2009. In December 2009, the
College of Bishops of the Philippines Central Conference gave him the
first of a series of suspensions.
Complaint lodged
In April 2010, the Judicial Council ruled in Decision 1149 that the Philippines College of Bishops could handle a complaint against Tangonan.
The complaint accused him of misconduct under Paragraph 2702 of the
denomination’s Book of Discipline. No details were released about the
complaint itself.
Arichea was assigned to replace Tangonan as the presiding bishop
of the Middle Philippines Annual Conference on Jan. 10, 2010. He had
served as bishop of the Baguio Episcopal Area, in northern Luzon, from
1994 through 2000, before his retirement.
During a May 22, 2010, special session, the Judicial Council affirmed in Decision 1152
Arichea’s decision of law that the officially approved venue of the
Middle Philippines Annual Conference’s Feb. 22-25, 2010, session was at
Wesleyan University Philippines, not at Carmen United Methodist
Church, where a simultaneous session was held.
The Wesleyan site “was validly chosen and designated by a majority
of the district superintendents with the consent of the bishop in
charge,” the ruling said. Any actions outside of that site “are null,
void and of no effect.”
That same year, a majority of the bishops from the Philippines
Central Conference asked the Judicial Council “to rule on the legality
of actions” taken by the conference’s Committee on Investigation
regarding the complaint against Tangonan. The petition alleged “the
Committee on Investigation voted to certify six specifications for
judicial trial, but refused to refer a charge based on the
specification” or “record a vote as to the two other charges” before
it.
In an Oct. 30, 2010, ruling (Memorandum 1177),
the council said it had no jurisdiction “to conduct an interim review”
of the committee’s proceedings. “The Judicial Council’s jurisdiction
in this context is limited to appellate review of completed trial
proceedings,” the ruling stated.
Bishop Lito C. Tangonan
A UMNS web-only photo courtesy of The United Methodist Central Conference.
‘Validly chosen and designated’
Arichea’s decisions of law regarding several 2011 annual conference
sessions were the basis of the Judicial Council’s Oct. 28 rulings. The
Council of Bishops originally had suspended Tangonan Jan. 20-March 19,
2011, and Arichea was assigned to fulfill all episcopal duties in the
Manila Episcopal Area.
His decisions that the annual conference sites were “validly chosen and designated” were upheld for the March 3-5, 2011, Middle Philippines Annual Conference at Roxy Lefforge United Methodist Church, Palayan City; the March 9-11, 2011, Palawan Philippines Annual Conference at Brookes Point, Palayan; and the March 16-18, 2011, Philippines Annual Conference-Cavite at Tagaytay (City) Mission Camp.
All actions of those specific conference sessions “are valid,
including the venue, composition, actions and decisions of the session,
including the appointments and the election of delegates to General
and Central Conference,” the council’s rulings stated. Any “purported
annual conference actions” outside of those sessions “are null, void
and of no effect.”
Ruben T. Reyes, a Judicial Council member from the Philippines,
recused himself from all decisions related to the Philippines Central
Conference.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. Follow her at http://twitter.com/umcscribe.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Korean News
Glad you liked it. Would you like to share?
Showing 2 comments