Read it all here:
The legal squabble between Niagara Bishop Michael Bird and an Oakville blogger who criticized him is over.
The Diocese of Niagara issued a press release Monday saying the pair has reached a settlement.
The church said blogger David Jenkins offered an apology to Bird for “any suffering he has experienced as a result of blog postings” on Jenkins’ Anglican Samizdat blog.
A press release from the Diocese of Niagara’s website.
Update: This item has been removed from the diocesan website.
Anyone interested in the details of my adventure can go here.
As many of you will be aware, in February 2013 Bishop Michael Bird sued me for defamation of character. I was served on February 19th, five years to the day that my church, St. Hilda’s was served with papers to take possession of the church building and freeze our bank account.
The lawsuit has now been settled; hence the post beneath this one.
I thought it might be instructive to catalogue much of what has occurred between February last year and today.
In brief, the claim sought:
Here is a summary of what has happened:
2013
March
An initial attempt on my part to achieve an early settlement was rebuffed since I was unwilling to “put some money on the table.”
April
I filed my statement of defence.
I received the initial Discovery Plan from Bird’s lawyer and the Pleadings were closed.
May
The Hamilton Spectator published an article on the lawsuit.
The Anglican Journal published an article on the lawsuit.
The Church of England Newspaper, and various bloggers including VOL posted articles.
Following this publicity, I received a formal Offer to Settle which included:
I responded with an offer to settle that included:
There was no response to my offer.
October
After numerous delays, the Examination for Discovery took place.
Directly after Discovery, Bird’s lawyer made a new offer to settle:
Michael Bird’s legal expenses amounted to $24,000. I made a counter-offer of $12,000 in addition to the other items.
2014
January
Michael Bird’s lawyer made another offer of $18,000 for legal expenses in addition to the other items.
February
I decided that further financial haggling was infra dig, so I agreed to the terms.
I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this interesting episode.
David Jenkins apologises to Bishop Michael Bird for any suffering he has experienced as a result of blog postings made by David Jenkins on his blog Anglican Samizdat.
From here:
Bishop John Charles Bothwell, whose long career had major impact in the Anglican Church of Canada, has died at the age of 87.
Bothwell – who was the eighth bishop of Niagara – ordained the first female priests in the Anglican diocese of Niagara in 1976 and also co-consecrated at the ordination of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.
“It is hard to encapsulate [Bothwell’s] impact upon the life of the parishes he served, the diocese of Niagara, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Anglican Communion,” Michael Bird, the diocesan bishop of Niagara, said in a statement. “He was one of the great leaders of our time,”
As Michael Bird perceptively notes, John Bothwell was “one of the great leaders of our time”: after all, he set the course for the Diocese of Niagara to become one of the most theologically liberal dioceses in Canada. The apotheosis of his influence probably occurred in February 2012 when the diocese’s lady priests (Bothwell ordained the first in 1976) performed the Vagina Monologues in Christ Church Cathedral.
John Bothwell made a number of appearances at St. Hilda’s but, I admit, not much of what he said sticks in my mind. The only thing I remember, probably because of my occupation, was his railing against the frivolity of fibre optic cables; their only use, he declared, was as decoration in ornamental lamps. Vanity of vanities. He did subsequently soften his view of the fibre optic industry a little when someone pointed out he would not have a telephone without it.
In God’s house there are many mansions, perhaps even a Luddite liberal one for John Bothwell.
Pete Seeger died recently, too. I didn’t care for his music, even in the 60’s and his politics have always seemed repugnant.
I rather like this tribute I came across a few days ago:
So farewell, then, Pete
Seeger
Too eager
To believe the best
Of the worst.
Where have all the
Flowers gone? You should know
You’re pushing them
Up.
© E. J. Throbb, aged 17¾
Read the whole article here:
AN ANGLICAN JOURNALIST has been charged with making libelous comments about a bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada. On Feb.19th, David Jenkins was served personally with a statement of claim for defamation of character from the diocesan Bishop of Niagara, Michael Bird.
[…..]
Another Anglican bishop, Grant LeMarquand, the Bishop for the Horn of Africa, who, like Bird, has also been criticized on Samizdat, commented in an online discussion on the Anglican Journal website: “I have been criticized on the same blog site but it never crossed my mind that a lawsuit was an option. In fact, that the Bishop of Niagara would even consider such an action as this attempt to silence criticism and dissent should make us all cringe. Should the bishop win his case, the principle of free speech will be diminished and all Canadians will all [sic] be lessened as a result.”
Jenkins said that “the pleadings are now closed and we will commence the discovery process on Oct. 17th.”
As the article notes, the next step in my little adventure is the Examination for Discovery which will occur on October 17th. For those who feel inclined to pray, I would value your prayers for wisdom on that date.
A short while after I was served with a statement of claim demanding $400,000 for damaging the bishop’s reputation, I received a letter from him inviting me to contribute to his diocesan fundraiser. It begins with a nice photo of the bishop:
On the assumption that I will no longer be able to afford my own stamp, it even comes with a pre-paid envelope.
On February 19th 2008, the Diocese of Niagara served St. Hilda’s with legal papers with the intention of taking possession of St. Hilda’s building and freezing our bank account.
On February 19th 2013, exactly five years later, I was served personally with a statement of claim for defamation of character from the Diocese of Niagara’s Bishop Michael Bird.
The claim is seeking:
The claim quotes – with sporadic accuracy – 31 blog postings that are alleged to be libellous. On the advice of my lawyer, the posts were removed the day after receiving the statement of claim.
Contrary to what one might expect in such circumstances, I did not receive a cease and desist letter in advance of the suit.
Initial negotiations for an early settlement have been unsuccessful.
I have filed a statement of defence, the pleadings are now closed and we have commenced the Discovery process.
Stay tuned.
“An agreement in principle” has been reached between the Diocese of Niagara and the three parishes that left the diocese in 2008. This article (my emphasis) chronicles the experiences of the Church of one of them, the Good Shepherd in St. Catharines.
Anglican Diocese of Niagara Archdeacon Michael Patterson said the situation has been difficult for all sides and he is looking forward to its conclusion. An agreement in principle has been reached between the two parties, and all that’s required are signatures.
The diocese has not determined what it will do with the church building on Granthoam, Former members of the Good Shepherd parish who disagreed with the split have moved to other congregations in the city, he said.
“They have been patient and waiting upon outcomes to determine what would happen, generations of people who were members of that community, (who) hope upon hope that we’ll be able to re-ignite the community.”
But Patterson said that given the climate of church closures, amalgamations and declining attendance, the diocese cannot commit to re-opening the church.
Archdeacon Michael Patterson admits that the diocese has no real use for the building in St. Catharines; the same would go for St. Hilda’s since there is no congregation eagerly awaiting the return of the diocese there either.
This is at odds with a letter sent to the congregation of St. Hilda’s by Bishops Michael Bird and Ralph Spence in 2008 where they declared their determination to keep the church doors open come what may:
The doors probably will remain open – for the real estate agents and their prospective buyers.
