Comments on: Sue or Be Sued http://blog.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com/2010/06/02/sue-or-be-sued/ Time for the Timeless Wed, 05 Jan 2011 08:51:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: leon http://blog.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com/2010/06/02/sue-or-be-sued/#comment-1393 leon Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:17:49 +0000 /post/Sue-or-Be-Sued.aspx#comment-1393 Interesting concept. Certainly some similarities (after all, just as the menu at McD''s is the same in Detroit as it is in Miami, it''s the same Mass in both of those places, even though the "franchises" are under different "management"). But while McD''s is organized according to the laws of whatever state in which it was incorporated, the Church is organized according to its Founder''s vision as carried out through the Holy Spirit acting through the Apostles and their successors. So any attempt to squeeze the Church into a business model we''re familiar with is only by analogy and will always be inadequate. From a legal standpoint, the key is "agency," which comes down to an assessment of the degree of control and that''s being exercised by the entity which we want to hold vicarious liable. An individual bishop is a successor of the apostles and has plenary authority in his local Church and is not the Pope''s employee. The "tests" used in such cases would clearly show that by conventional legal standards the Vatican doesn''t wield the kind of control of the bishop''s actions that would subject the universal Church to liability. Interesting concept. Certainly some similarities (after all, just as the menu at McD”s is the same in Detroit as it is in Miami, it”s the same Mass in both of those places, even though the "franchises" are under different "management"). But while McD”s is organized according to the laws of whatever state in which it was incorporated, the Church is organized according to its Founder”s vision as carried out through the Holy Spirit acting through the Apostles and their successors. So any attempt to squeeze the Church into a business model we”re familiar with is only by analogy and will always be inadequate.

From a legal standpoint, the key is "agency," which comes down to an assessment of the degree of control and that”s being exercised by the entity which we want to hold vicarious liable. An individual bishop is a successor of the apostles and has plenary authority in his local Church and is not the Pope”s employee. The "tests" used in such cases would clearly show that by conventional legal standards the Vatican doesn”t wield the kind of control of the bishop”s actions that would subject the universal Church to liability.

]]> By: Joe Heschmeyer http://blog.mycatholicfaithdelivered.com/2010/06/02/sue-or-be-sued/#comment-1392 Joe Heschmeyer Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:41:43 +0000 /post/Sue-or-Be-Sued.aspx#comment-1392 Great post. What are your thoughts on the idea that the Church is similar in form to a franchise? With the individual bishops serving the role served as individual franchise owners? Great post. What are your thoughts on the idea that the Church is similar in form to a franchise? With the individual bishops serving the role served as individual franchise owners?

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