Breaking news: Lionel Deimel reports on his blog that Judge Jospeh M. James has issues a ruling concerning the transfer of property back to the control of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The actual text of the ruling is sealed.
He writes:
Nearly four months after Judge Joseph M. James declared that diocesan property should be held and administered by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and set in motion a process for the orderly transition of assets being held by those who split from The Episcopal Church in 2008, he has issued an order presumably aimed at effecting that transfer. It is expected that Archbishop Robert Duncan and other defendants in the Calvary lawsuit will immediately appeal….
Unfortunately, Judge James’s order is apparently under seal and is not available on the usual Web site, so one can only speculate as to its contents. I have no idea why the order is not being released publicly.
I hope that more information will be forthcoming shortly, perhaps from the Episcopal diocese.