Judges Rules that Niagra Diocese and parishes are to share disputed
church buildings
The Anglican Diocese of Niagara and three breakaway parishes must
share custody of three Southwestern Ontario churches until the courts
ultimately decide who holds the keys to the properties, an Ontario
Superior Court judge ruled yesterday.
"I accept that although there are fundamental religious disputes
between these parties ... there is clearly a dispute over property
rights," Madam Justice Jane Milanetti wrote in her 21-page decision.
She ruled that the three parishes and the diocese share possession of
St. George's Anglican Church in Lowville, St. Hilda's Anglican Church
in Oakville, and the Church of Good Shepherd in St. Catharines. She
further ordered that the diocese, which is named in the titles of two
of the three properties, "have full access to and use of" the three
properties between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. every Sunday, as well as other
"feast days" such as Christmas.
The order is meant to be in place until the courts decide who owns the
properties. Some lawyers have suggested that could take up to a
decade.
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