wfn.org | Deposed Montana bishop resigns

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-50

Deposed Montana bishop resigns 

by Jan Nunley
jnunley@episcopalchurch.org

     (ENS) Charles I. "Ci" Jones III, Episcopal bishop of Montana since 1986, 
submitted his resignation to the diocesan council on February 26. The 
resignation, effective Ash Wednesday, February 28, followed a February 14 
decision by the Court for the Trial of a Bishop deposing Jones for sexual 
misconduct.

     According to the Billings Gazette, Jones and diocesan officials came to an 
agreement in principle on February 23, working out details of the settlement over 
the weekend. Jones also moved his belongings out of his office. He had been on 
"emergency leave" since February 10.

     His diocesan administrator, Suzanne Hunger, resigned as well. 

     In exchange for Jones' resignation, the Standing Committee and Diocesan 
Council agreed to give him a $170,000 settlement. The agreement includes 
forgiving his home mortgage with the diocese, which had a balance of slightly 
less than $55,000, and the remainder covering 15 months of his salary, minus 
travel pay. 

     In return, Jones agreed not to sue the Diocese of Montana, its members or 
other groups and individuals associated with it.

Amicable parting

     Diocesan council member Jim Hunt, a Helena attorney who helped negotiate the 
settlement, said Jones was owed a severance package under his contract. "All that 
happened is that his severance package was increased to finally resolve the 
matter," Hunt said. 

     "Everyone involved said Bishop Jones' resignation was best for everyone 
involved," he added. "Ultimately, it was an amicable parting." 

     The Court for the Trial of a Bishop issued a 7-2 sentence of deposition for 
Jones on February 14. The case concerns sexual misconduct with a woman 
parishioner and employee of a parish in Russellville, Kentucky, where Jones was 
rector prior to his election as bishop of Montana. The misconduct took place from 
1981-83.

     After the court's sentence was pronounced, Jones asked Presiding Bishop 
Frank Griswold to allow him to undergo a process known as "voluntary submission 
to discipline," after which he could petition to be reinstated to the office of 
bishop. Title IV.2.9 of the church's canons provide that voluntary submission to 
discipline can be sought "at any time before Judgment by an Ecclesiastical Trial 
Court."  

     But that door closed for Jones when Griswold refused to consent, according 
to David Beers, chancellor to the presiding bishop. Jones may now move to modify 
or appeal his sentence, or both--which would delay judgment for another 30 days.

     In any event, Beers said, Jones has lost his seat in the House of Bishops. 
The church's constitution limits full membership in that house to bishops who 
resign "by reason of advanced age or bodily infirmity, or who, under an election 
to an office created by the General Convention, or for reasons of mission 
strategy determined by action of the General Convention or the House of Bishops." 
The house's rules of order permit "non-voting" membership only for those who have 
resigned for reasons not "related to the Bishop's moral character."

     A majority of bishops could vote to remit or modify Jones' sentence at a 
meeting of the House of Bishops. The next such meeting is set for the Kanuga 
Conference Center in North Carolina, March 9-14.

     Blames liberal parishes

     In a pastoral letter to the diocese, dated February 24, Jones blasted "the 
small group of twenty-five to thirty people who began and sustained the conflict 
among us...This conflicted group still exists, and is still in conflict as 
evidenced by Diocesan Council's written request that the Court depose me, and by 
the group's filing sworn statements against me in my trial. These statements led 
the current Presiding Bishop to ask the Court to depose me," he said. 

     "I feel a great deal of the energy for this action escalated with my 
pastoral letter a year ago in which I stated I would not ordain active 
homosexuals or allow the blessing of same-sex unions within the diocese until our 
church was settled on these issues," Jones alleged. "This position is not a 
popular one among the hierarchy of the national church nor in the diocese among 
the two most liberal churches in Helena and Missoula, Montana, where most of the 
statements against me originated. 

     "Although this does not seem to me to be what God is calling me to do, after 
nine years Ashby and I cannot emotionally continue to stand against the powerful 
forces seeking my ouster," the letter concluded. 

Scapegoating charged

     In a February statement posted on the online Montana diocesan newsletter, 
Jones called the decision "shocking to me, given that my sexual misconduct of 
which I was found guilty took place almost two decades ago." 

     "The lie that is at the root of our suffering as a diocese is perpetuated by 
a small group of 25-30 people among us," Jones wrote. "The lie is this: 'Ci Jones 
is a bad person and is the root of all of our troubles.' Stated another way, 'If 
we get rid of Ci Jones, we will be fine as a church.' Belief in this remedy for 
the problems we face is idolatry because it leaves God out of the equation." 

     Jones said Hunger's resignation represents "the first tragedy of the stress 
created by the blaming and scapegoating" in the diocese.

Skills of Solomon needed

     "His accountant background and very considerable skills were a blessing to 
this diocese and if he must leave, he leaves us very healthy financially," 
observed the Rev. Donald Belcher, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Troy, 
Montana, who described himself as a friend of Jones. "He was not especially 
capable in the diplomatic area and thus angered a number of power brokers in the 
state.

     "I think this decision was dead wrong, but Bishop Jones will survive; it is 
those who condemn him who must forever live with their weakness," Belcher added 
in an email to ENS. 

     "I feel that the Diocese of Montana and the Episcopal Church as a whole have 
lost a good person and a leader of great faith and conscience," commented Sandy 
Williams, a deputy from Montana, by email. "I still feel that the national church 
and the court did not hear from people that were not in conflict with Ci."

     A Montana priest, who asked not to be identified, commented, "We will need 
years to get things settled.  Our immediate need is for an interim bishop with 
the skills of Solomon and a steady hand."

--The Rev. Jan Nunley is deputy director of the  Episcopal Church's Office of 
News and Information. Additional information by Charles S. Johnson of the Billings 
Gazette State Bureau.