wfn.org | Canadian diocese may yet find a way to prevent bankruptcy

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2000-164

Canadian diocese may yet find a way to prevent bankruptcy over lawsuits charging 
abuse in native schools

by James Solheim

     (ENS) A cloud of gloom hung over a mid-October meeting of the Anglican 
Church of Canada's Diocese of Cariboo as it faced bankruptcy in the coming year--
the result of crippling lawsuits brought by victims of abuse in native schools it 
operated for the government.

     As participants in the diocesan synod expressed anger and frustration, they 
also offered profound spiritual testimonies that put the crisis in a wider 
perspective. Then came word that Prime Minister Jean Chretien was appointing his 
deputy, Herb Gray, to find a way to resolve the legal crisis by satisfying the 
claims outside of the courts.

     "I want to explore how this might be resolved in a way that's fair to 
everyone concerned, without primary resort to litigation," Gray told the National 
Post. "All of us on the government side want to find a fair way to resolve this--
and that includes the Prime Minister." That represents a significant shift in 
attitude. Jane Stewart, a former minister of Indian Affairs, was quoted as one 
who thinks "the churches have got to feel the pain," a comment that has angered 
the churches. 

     "Before it was largely handled at the level of the bureaucrats and it's now 
being handled at the level of the Cabinet," said Archbishop David Crawley of 
British Columbia. "I think there's hope that the government, the churches and the 
native people might be able to reach a solution that's just and fair."

     Earlier the synod authorized its bishop, James Cruickshank, and its 
executive council to take the necessary steps to go out of existence and 
surrender assets to help settle claims in 14 lawsuits. Legal costs have reached 
$350,000, draining the diocese's assets. Another resolution, dubbed "a kind of 
faint hope clause," authorizes the bishop and executive committee to negotiate a 
settlement with the government, provided that it is sustainable from diocesan 
resources and of "direct benefit to those victims and survivors."

     After an early court ruling found that the government and the church jointly 
liable for sexual assaults in one school, the government dragged the church into 
other lawsuits as third-party defendants, pushing the church to the point of 
bankruptcy. Gray would not say whether the government would abandon this policy.

     The Anglican Church launched an effort to influence government action by 
asking its members to contact members of Parliament. "Our government has begun to 
talk with us and we are waiting to see what they propose," said Cruickshank.

Yeast or toast?

     "The land and the buildings are the only remaining assets in the diocese," 
reported Smith. "But before we can offer any of them in settlement, we have to be 
clear who owns them." The diocese has proposed that the question of ownership be 
settled by a process of binding arbitration but the government has not yet 
responded. If the diocese does own the buildings, rather than holding them in 
trust for parishes, they would be surrendered to the government.

     "The Diocese of Cariboo is broke," Smith said. "Spiritually we may very well 
be yeast, but financially we are toast."

     Although it has made significant strides toward self-reliance in recent 
years, the diocese has only 17 parishes, nine of them self-supporting, with very 
modest buildings. So there was disbelief when synod participants were told that a 
government lawyer had demanded a list of "paintings and jewelry" owned by the 
diocese. "The only jewelry we have is the bishop's ring--and one would hope that 
the government won't take the bishop's ring," said Smith.

Testimonies of hope

     Parishes were asked to bring messages about their perceptions of the future 
to the meeting. The result was a flow of testimonies of faith and hope.

     A parish in Prince George said that the stories of abuse of First Nations 
children "has called us to touch the wounds of Christ." And a parish in Quesnel 
said that the situation calls on the church "to be agents of transformation, to 
face the issues confronting us. And the response from a parish in the North 
Thompson Valley said, "We, the people, are the church. Our buildings are not. We 
will continue to be the church, no matter what happens."

     "Churches in Cariboo are sacred places," said Rob Taylor of Williams Lake. 
"They are not garages or strip malls or even family businesses that have been 
passed from one generation to the next. They are the homes where the momentous 
events in our lives are celebrated."

     Smith said that he was guided by concern for the victims but also the 
integrity of the parishes as "an integral part of their communities, in many 
cases the only places where communities can gather." 

     No matter what happens, Cruickshank said that the diocese must focus and 
concentrate on indigenous ministry, "exploring together what we really mean by 
healing and reconciliation." In his address to the synod, he said, "I believe God 
has chosen this funny old church, this so-called establishment church…and decided 
to do some pruning. And I believe we will grow back more compassionately than we 
could ever have imagined possible, because we will know what it's like to be 
powerless."

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and Information. 
This article is based on reports from the Anglican Church of Canada's news service.