wfn.org | United Methodist pastor leaves church

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (145
notes).

Note 145 by UMNS on June 9, 1997 at 15:41 Eastern (3858 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                           333(10-21-71B){145}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              June 9, 1997

Pastor ordained in two traditions
surrenders United Methodist credentials

     The United Methodist clergyman who sought to hold dual
ordination in the United Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic
Church has surrendered his United Methodist ministerial
credentials.
     The credentials, surrendered by the Rev. W. Paul Jones April
18, were officially accepted by the clergy session of the Missouri
West Annual Conference in closed session in Columbia, Mo., May 27.
     Jones cited "the eucharistic centrality and the sacramental
approach to life," as the reason for his decision to retain his
Roman Catholic ordination rather than remain United Methodist.
     When Missouri Area Bishop Ann Sherer returned Jones'
Certificate of Ordination to him, marked "honorably dismissed,"
she wrote, "I returned your orders with absolute confidence that
the ordination, which the Spirit conferred and the Methodist
Church affirmed and authorized in 1954, continues in you as a
Roman Catholic priest. God's blessing."
      Ordained into the Methodist Church in 1954, Jones then was
ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in 1996. It was his
desire to retain full ordination in both traditions. He hoped dual
ordination would help bridge the gap between the two churches,
which he believes have much to offer each other.  
     Jones' definition of an ordained minister is a person who
preaches, teaches and shepherds. He defines a priest as "one who
stands in our midst as Christ."
     To become a priest, he was required to be confirmed as a
member of the Roman Catholic Church. 
     The United Methodist Church's Judicial Council, the
denomination's supreme court, ruled on a similar case when William
Farmer, an ordained United Methodist minister in the North Texas
Annual Conference, joined a Roman Catholic Church. 
     The council determined that a United Methodist pastor cannot
concurrently be a lay member of another faith communion.
     For months Sherer sought resolution to Jones' dilemma. She
entered into conversations with Bishop Michael McAuliffe of the
Jefferson City Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. After
cooperatively exploring all avenues, both episcopal leaders
concluded that "at this point in history it is not possible for
Paul to have membership in both churches."   
     When Bishop William Boyd Grove, ecumenical officer for the
United Methodist Church, learned of the episcopal decision, he
wrote, "My heart is very heavy. A few years ago a Roman Catholic
woman who teaches at Duke [Divinity School, Durham, N.C.] said the
ecumenical movement lags because the people do not feel the pain
of our disunity. Today I feel the pain."
     In a joint statement, Sherer and McAuliffe recognized Jones'
"passion to help restore the unity of the church as Christ's
seamless robe," and named him to serve as the ecumenical liaison
between the Missouri West Annual Conference and the Jefferson City
Diocese. The intent, they said, is to foster understanding between
the two traditions.
     Writing from the Vatican, Archbishop Francesco Marchisano,
president of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage
of the Roman Catholic Church, said, "Your desire to offer your
experience and knowledge in order to strengthen the relations
between the United Methodist and the Catholic Church is worthy of
encouragement."
                              #  #  #

     * John Stein, director of communications for the Missouri
West Annual Conference, provided information for this release.

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