wfn.org | Episcopal Bishop resigns in New Jersey diocese

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

99-020
Doss resigns as bishop of New Jersey, diocese begins process of 
healing	

by James Solheim
(ENS) After years of confrontation and polarization, the 
Diocese of New Jersey will seek healing in the wake of the 
resignation of Bishop Joe Morris Doss on March 12.

The resignation takes effect in the fall of 2001 but Doss 
will take a "sabbatical leave of absence" beginning no later than 
June 30 or as soon as an interim bishop is appointed. Diocesan 
leaders and Doss agreed to a separation package of salary and 
benefits of $1.2 million.

"Being your bishop has not been easy," Doss said in his 
parting address at the diocesan convention in Somerset. "But the 
good moments, of which there were many, have been spiritually 
nourishing and rewarding, while the tough moments have been 
instructive and humbling."

Doss said that he was "profoundly sorry to announce to you 
that I cannot be the one called to lead the Diocese of New Jersey 
into a new millennium." He said that he wasn't resigning because 
of the lack of support, or because of a continuing investigation 
of his financial stewardship, but because he couldn't provide 
leadership for "the battered and beleaguered diocese." He said 
that he had come to the conclusion that he was "in the way" of a 
process of healing and reconciliation.

"You must not allow your opportunity for healing, reconciliation 
and reform to pass," he told 800 delegates to the convention. 
"Much work has been done, much learning has occurred, a great 
price has been paid."

Apologizing again for any part he played in the divisive 
controversies swirling around his leadership, Doss said, "For 
some of you it may seem to be a joyful occasion and for others a 
tragedy." Calling himself a "lightning rod," Doss said that his 
tenure had shown the need for healing and reconciliation, bringing 
to the surface deep-rooted problems in the diocese. He said that 
the need for healing, reconciliation and reform "remain deep, 
complex and long-existing. The need so pervasive that it calls for 
nothing less than transformation."

After his half-hour address, Doss and his family walked out 
of the convention center as delegates stood and applauded.

Diocese agrees to $1.2 million package
Challenges to his leadership have plagued Doss almost from 
the time of his election in 1994. Despite the use of an outside 
consultant and a diocesan wellness committee, the confrontation 
escalated into calls for the bishop's resignation from the 
Diocesan Council and Standing Committee.

A recent attempt by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold to 
mediate a plan calling on Doss and diocesan leaders to "exert 
every reasonable effort to maintain a professional and collegial 
relationship with each other" in return for the early retirement 
of the bishop in 2002 was not accepted by the diocesan 
representatives. They demanded that the bishop leave as soon as 
possible, promising a generous separation package.

The package includes full salary and benefits until retirement-and 
additional payments to his pension, $200,000 for the educational 
costs of his two children, $150,000 for the mortgage on his home, 
$30,000 moving expenses, $20,000 to replace his automobile, and 
a payment of $100,000 "payable at any time within the next three 
years at the bishop's request."

Diocesan officials admitted that they were not sure how they 
could implement the package since financial support for the 
diocese has been eroding. Revenues for 1998 were $1.5 million, 
according to the treasurer, Peter Hausman. The diocese has paid 
only a fraction of the $500,000 it usually sends to the national 
church in the last few years.

"I'm aligned with the group that wanted him to leave, but I 
don't think we can celebrate," said the Rev. Alan French, head of 
the Standing Committee, in an interview with the Newark Star-
Ledger. "It's been a horrible ordeal.. I think it's a tragedy, but it's
a 
tragedy that he brought on himself. Lots of other people were harmed 
over these years. Careers were destroyed."

A Doss supporter said that it was "a combination of exhaustion, 
pressure and a careful assessment of what is possible for him to do 
and what is not possible" that led to the resignation.

Picking up the pieces 
Bishop Clayton Matthews, on the presiding bishop's staff 
with responsibilities in pastoral development, told the convention 
that "over time.healing might happen" but he pointed to a 
"collective sense of loss." He added, "There are no victors-but 
rather a people who, like the Hebrews in the wilderness and the 
disciples on the road to Jerusalem, look to an uncertain future 
while trusting in God to guide us so that we can see and respond 
to opportunities for healing and reconciliation."

Matthews pledged the efforts of his office and the presiding 
bishop to work closely with the diocese. "Let's pick up the 
pieces and see what we can make of it. The pieces are all here-
something new and wonderful can be restored or we can throw it all 
away, thus destroying any chance of realizing things hoped for by 
all."

In a sermon at the convention Eucharist, Bishop Catherine 
Roskam of New York warned, "Your problems are not solved. Your 
bishop's leaving has only altered the manner in which you must 
deal with them. And as you engage in the work of this convention 
and of this diocese, the potential for more wounding is great-if 
you forget that Christ has called us to be servants."

Roskam said that "healing will come," but that reconciliation precedes 
healing and repentance precedes reconciliation. "And plumbing the 
depths of your differences in a spirit of truth and love precedes
repentance. 
So you have your work cut out for you. Tell the truth in love, plumb
your 
differences, repent, be reconciled, and you will be in the place where
your 
healing may begin."

--James Solheim is director of the Office of News and Information 
for the Episcopal Church.