Diocese lawsuits still being consolidated

Lawsuits filed by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles against three

breakaway churches, including one in Newport Beach, are still in the

process of consolidation.

A status conference scheduled Friday in Orange County Superior

Court was rescheduled for Feb. 5 because the case has yet to be

assigned to a local judge.

Orange County Superior Court Judge David Velasquez in December

recommended consolidating the lawsuits against St. James Church in

Newport Beach, All Saints’ in Long Beach and St. David’s in North

Hollywood. The consolidated case will be heard in Orange County, but

the state and county judicial councils must assign a judge before it

goes ahead.

The diocese is suing the three parishes for return of property,

including church buildings.

St. James seceded from the Episcopal Church of the United States

in August and placed itself under the Diocese of Luwero in the

Anglican Church of Uganda, Africa. The churches broke away because

they disagreed with the Episcopal Church’s more liberal views on

homosexuality, the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the

Bible.