THE Church of Ireland’s General Synod debated a Bill to enable the tenure of an incumbent to be brought to an end after all reasonable endeavours have been made to resolve an “intractable breakdown of relationships” between the cleric and the enrolled parishioners.
It had been deemed a grey area, with no mechanism in place to deal with cases where the breakdown had happened through no particular fault of either party — a situation acknowledged to put the ongoing viability of the parish and/or the spiritual well-being of the incumbent in jeopardy.
The new Bill provides for an incumbent to move on to another ecclesiastical office elsewhere. The proposed process begins with a statement of concern, which can be brought by the bishop, archdeacon, or rural dean, or the incumbent, or a specified number of members of the general and select vestries (whose C of E counter parts are the electoral-roll membership and the PCC).
The matter would then be referred to the diocesan council, which would examine the issue and, if appropriate, appoint a committee of inquiry. Its primary task would be to seek and encourage local resolution of a problem. If that proved not to be possible, an inquiry would proceed.
The proposer of the Bill, the Archdeacon of Belfast, the Ven. Barry Forde, said: “This Bill provides a framework that honours tenure and works within the existing life and structures of the Church.”
Canon Nicola Harford, seconding, described the proposals as “carefully designed to be limited in scope, fair in process, accountable in decision-making, and supportive in outcome”.
The Bill had its detractors. Canon Paul Arbuthnot (Dublin & Glendalough) said that it would endanger the well-being of clergy, and “all would rue its passing.” It would have clergy frightened and “looking over their shoulders”, he said. Clergy and their families could be made homeless in the middle of a housing crisis. A malicious complainant would remain in the pews, and the incumbent would continue to have to face the complainant.
The Synod considered 13 amendments before enabling the Bill to proceed to its final stages.