Tasmanian Anglican Church gives green light to asset sale, Bishop denies rubber-stamp claim
Updated
The Anglican Synod passes the full list of 108 properties, including 76 churches, earmarked for sale to fund $8.6 million in redress to survivors of sexual abuse.
Representatives from all 48 parishes across the state gathered at the Tailrace Centre to finalise the properties to be listed for sale.
The vote was made to loud applause with some attendants in tears.
"This is a very important step and a very good day for survivors of sexual abuse in Tasmania," said church leader Bishop Richard Condie.
"It is a horrifying problem and what we've done today is make a very significant sacrifice so that those people will be able to access redress which provides justice, recognition and support for them for the damage that's been done in their lives."
An appeal process will now come into play with the decision to be finalised in December.
All parishes will be informed of today's outcome in writing and will have until October 1 to appeal to have their properties excluded from the list of sale.
A quarter of the proceeds from property sales will go towards the redress, while the Anglican Church will quarantine the rest to go back into parishes that lose churches.
"We're at the start now of a process of community consultation with parishes and community groups about the sale of churches but the Synod has overwhelmingly decided to pursue the course that was proposed to them, which is to levy 25 per cent of diocese and investment funds — 25 per cent of the net proceeds of sale of properties — to make $8 million that we think we're going to need," Bishop Condie said.
About 150 selected parish representatives from across the state — a mix of clergy and lay people — approved the list by a strong majority.
Around 90 per cent of clergy and 80 per cent the laity voted in favour, Bishop Condie said.
"It has been a very amicable and peaceful meeting and conducted very well and with overwhelming support for our proposal."
"We've been thinking and praying a lot about this over the last couple of months."
'There has not been genuine consultation'
Outside, one angry parishioner was placing an open letter rejecting the church's plan on every car parked outside.
The church to date has earmarked 108 properties to sell off to help fund $8.6 million in redress payments for survivors of child sexual abuse.
And while parishioner and Tamar councillor Peter Kearney said he supported the church raising money for the cause, he rejected the church's "non-consultative" plan.
"It is a plan that is to be 'done' to us," reads the letter he placed under the windscreen wiper of every vehicle.
Mr Kearney said the process had alienated regular parishioners with its "top-down" approach.
"We're disillusioned. The Synod is not a truly representative process," he said outside the Tailrace Centre where the Synod is meeting.
"There hasn't been genuine consultation with parishioners."
Mr Kearney was caustic of the Anglican Church leadership.
"The process is entirely conflicted. We need a genuine response from parishioners around the state and the Synod does not achieve that," he said.
"These are properties that communities across Tasmania have put their heart, soul and money into. The rushed process is wrong and is alienating people.
"This is a top-down process and it's going to do lasting damage to our church."
Mr Kearney said his opinion was shared by many parishioners in his area.
His local church, the Holy Trinity church in Beaconsfield, has been nominated to be sold under the redress process.
Parishioner Ron Sonners, whose church could now be sold, also did not support the decision yet respected the wishes of the Synod.
"This has caused tremendous angst among the community," he said.
"This is a setback. Right at the time when we are trying to reach out and invite people into our reach then we have our church and our cemeteries taken away from us."
"Parishioners feel they have not been listened to, that we are outsiders, not part of the system, and we are betrayed."
I'm proud of our decision, says chaplain
Bishop Condie rejected the claim the process had been undemocratic.
"I don't think anybody who has been in the meeting today would think it has been a rubber-stamp process — I think what we did today was a very robust process," he said.
"The Anglican Church is a democratic church — I can't make any decisions without the Synod and the Synod has made its decision today."
Chaplain Katrina Timms also supported the vote, describing it as a "huge decision".
"I'm proud that this Synod's made this decision and I think it's a great beginning for a new season of the church," she said.
'We need to act quickly and decisively'
The plan to sell church property was announced by Tasmania's Anglican Bishop Richard Condie earlier this year and ignited concern and controversy among believers.
The Church said the $8.6 million figure was based on the expectation that there would be up to 200 survivors of abuse receiving an average of $78,000.
Speaking before the debate, Anglican Church General Manager James Oakley called for calm among the Anglican community.
"The decision we need is a simple decision: what process do we adopt to fund redress? We need to act quickly and decisively," he said.
"We need to share the load of funding redress and we don't want to see areas of devastation.
"The decision we need to make needs to be based on reason and evidence."
The list contains eight out of the nine Anglican churches in the Southern Midlands municipality, including St Mary's Anglican church in Kempton.
Last week more than 100 churchgoers and residents of Kempton gathered at a meeting in the town, worried over the future of cemeteries affected by the sale.
Topics: religion-and-beliefs, community-and-society, launceston-7250, tas
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