A Decision on Capetz

The Witherspoon Society, a left-wing advocacy caucus within the PCUSA, is reporting that the Synod of Lakes and Prairies has rejected a challenge to the Twin Cities Presbytery’s January action restoring clergy credentials to Paul Capetz:

In January Dr. Paul Capetz, professor of theology at United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, was restored to the exercise of ordained ministry by action of the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. As a gay man, he had laid aside his ordination in 2000, in response to the adoption of the “fidelity and chastity” requirement.

Three members of the Presbytery filed a complaint against his restoration. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies has just dismissed the complaint, on the grounds that Capetz was not seeking ordination, but rather a restoration of ordination previously conferred. The Synod PJC found that the General Assembly and its PJC have never acted to rescind a presbytery action already taken to ordain someone, since that decision is taken properly and most knowledgeably by the presbytery.

I have previously addressed this case here, here, and here. It sounds from the Witherspoon report as if the PJC of the synod has taken a hint from the recent Jane Spahr decision and gone the route of technicality and hair-splitting to achieve the result it wanted. Can’t say for sure until I see the decision, but relying on what amounts to a historical irrelevance–that he had been ordained previously (and ignoring both his surrendering of his credentials and his publicly stated determination to ignore the ordination standards)–certainly seems to fit the bill.

Other sites that might be expected to trumpet this, such as That All May Freely Serve and More Light Presbyterians, don’t have anything on this yet. Neither do the PCUSA or synod sites. Even the presbytery site doesn’t mention it. So Witherspoon may have inside information, or it may be wrong. In any case, I’ll have more on this when it appears one way or the other.