A147 Referring Lay Disciplinary Canon Issue to Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons shall study and report back to the 82d General Convention with recommended canonical changes, if any, to

  1. Authorize the Ecclesiastical Authority in the case of elected officers of a congregation or of the Diocese who are lay persons, or to authorize the Presiding Bishop in the case of elected officers of General Convention or Provinces who are lay persons, to act promptly to suspend or remove an elected officer from office in circumstances where:
     
    1. there is credible evidence to believe that continuation of that elected lay leader in office poses a serious risk of criminal misconduct, bodily harm, or financial malfeasance, or
       
    2. the elected lay officer has been involuntarily committed for treatment, including treatment for substance abuse; or
       
    3. the elected lay officer, prior to their election, failed to disclose to those voting any (1) pending criminal charges or past criminal convictions or diversions for treatment, (2) past or current suspensions or removals from any professional bodies for misconduct, or (3) any past or current protective order against them, or
       
    4. efforts by the elected lay officer to obstruct authorized inquiries into any such allegations.

    Any recommendations for canonical changes authorizing such suspension or removal shall also provide for prompt post-suspension or post-removal review before a neutral decisionmaker (diocesan or provincial, as the case may be), which must include other elected lay officers. In that review, the suspended or removed lay leader will be provided the evidence against them sufficiently before the hearing in order for them to gather responsive evidence and to present their defense to claimed misconduct. The reviewing body shall have the power to reinstate the elected lay leader if the factual basis for the removal is without substantial foundation.

  1. To study and report back with recommended canonical language, if any, to provide for background checks for lay elected officers prior to standing for election, particularly for elected lay officers with authority over financial accounts, church disciplinary proceedings, or recommendations in the approval of clergy ordinations.

 

Explanation

The current canons do not expressly authorize prompt action to remove or suspend an elected lay officer where there are credible allegations of criminal misconduct, such as an indictment or other criminal charges, an audit showing the unexplained disappearance or misuse of funds from an account over which the elected lay officer has signature authority, or allegations of serious harm to children or others by the lay officer. Similarly, where an elected lay officer has been involuntarily committed for treatment, action should be authorized to protect the church and its people.

This resolution asks the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons to study this issue and make appropriate recommendations for canonical changes, if any, they believe are needed to authorize prompt action to protect the church, its people, and its funds, while providing a workable avenue to contest such suspension or removal as unsupported by the evidence.

Any such recommended canonical changes must help assure that this authority is exercised where the evidence of past serious misconduct or significant imminent harm is strong. Any such recommended canonical changes must assure that the elected lay officer will be entitled to a prompt post-suspension hearing before a neutral decisionmaker, where the lay officer is entitled to present evidence and to know in advance of the hearing the evidence on which the suspension or removal has been based.

This authority is to be exercised to protect the church, its people, and the public, and is not to be invoked because of differences in policy. The neutral reviewing body must include elected lay officers, in keeping with the polity of the Church and as a check against inappropriate use of this authority.

The second paragraph asks for a study and possible recommended canonical language to provide for background checks where elected lay officers will have significant financial or supervisory authority. That preventive step may help avoid cases of potential misconduct and harm to people and the mission of the church.