Priest Sends FYI to Justices

One of two priests subject to Title IV charges for signing an amici curiae brief in a Fort Worth church-property case has written to the Texas Supreme Court about those charges. The Rev. Ephraim Radner, professor of historical theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto, told the justices of his experience since helping to write the brief as part of his work with the Anglican Communion Institute.

“I have no personal interest in the disposition of this case,” Radner wrote to the nine justices. “I am in fact a priest of the Episcopal Church (although teaching in Canada right now), and intend to remain so. But the actions of the Appellees amount, as far as I can see, to intimidation and vindictive behavior against citizens who are honestly and disinterestedly engaging in sharing their expertise with the court. I believe you should be aware of this.”

Radner told TLC he was surprised his letter has gone public, and that he had not asked anyone to circulate it.

Alan Haley, an Episcopalian and attorney, praised Radner’s letter March 23 on his Anglican Curmudgeon weblog. “I am reliably informed by counsel in the case that the Court has treated the letter as a supplemental amicus filing, so that it is now an official part of the record in the case,” Haley wrote. “That means that the justice who is currently writing the Court’s opinion in the case will have seen it, as will all the other justices on the Court.”

The full text of Radner’s letter follows. It also is available, along with many briefs filed in the case, on this page on the Texas Supreme Court’s website.

Radner-Letter-March-2013

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