Cathedral takes ex-judge to court on choir job discord
24 January 2011
St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast was visited by a former Supreme Court Judge.
Sir Donald Murray was served by the Cathedral board with a High Court injunction preventing him from publishing the results of two internal inquiries.
They focus on a dispute that involved the Cathedral's former Director, Philip Stopford.
Last year, the Church of Ireland closed his post.
Five board members of the cathedral were forced to resign following the decision. Now, Dean Houston McKelvey at St Anne's has been asked to explain his role.
Mr Stopford, who is in his early thirties, accepted his post in 2003. He left after the Church authorities claimed that they had closed his post in order to save money. Others were not convinced that he had left.
Former Supreme Court Judge Right Honorable Sir Donald Murray stated: "When he announced in June that he was going and he was being treated financially as redundant - it was a bombshell. I simply had to notice." discord-servers.co Because of my long association with the cathedral, everyone was naturally concerned about it.
Sir Donald decided to do his own research.
The Cathedral then went to the High Court to prevent him from publishing any details of the two church inquiries into this matter. Sir Donald was forced to pay PS15,000.
Legal reasons prevent Sir Donald from making his findings public.
But he has sent a letter to members of St Anne's congregation, claiming it contains the facts leading up to Mr Stopford's removal.
"There were many theories and versions within the congregation. He said that he tried to lay it all down so that everyone is aware.
Redundant
The Church has also sent a letter claiming that Sir Donald's was a "selective and partial version of events".
But it does address problems between the Dean and Mr Stopford and refers to "the breakdown of the working relationship" between the pair.
The letter insists again that the decision to remove the Director of Music was made for financial reasons.
Sir Donald replied that he believed the Dean should tell us his side, and that it was important to hear both sides. We won't hear his side of the story until he does.
Dean McKelvey will be leaving his position at St Anne's Church at Easter. But members of his congregation are eager to hear from him.
They want to find out why the Cathedral is so determined keep the results of the Church inquiries secret. Dean McKelvey was unable to be interviewed.
Cathedral discord over choir post
18 August 2010
Save the Choral Traditional of St Annes Cathedral – Facebook Group
St Anne's Cathedral
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