Episcopal court finds pastor guilty of theft

Dissident cleric at Springs parish disputes charges

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 9, 2007 at midnight

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An Episcopal court unanimously ruled Wednesday that the Rev. Don Armstrong stole $392,409 from his Colorado Springs parish, committed tax fraud and received illegal loans.

The church court also said Armstrong under-reported his income by $548,000 and found bad bookkeeping at Grace Church and St. Stephens, the parish Armstrong has led for 20 years.

Armstrong, who has insisted all along he is innocent, has 30 days to respond to the findings, though he didn't attend the trial because he says the diocese has no jurisdiction over him.

Church attorneys have recommended that Armstrong be defrocked. Bishop Rob O'Neill will decide punishment.

The court's preliminary findings cap a 16-month diocesan investigation of Armstrong.

The diocese accused Armstrong of using a scholarship fund for needy seminarians to finance his own children's education, a charge the rector says is meritless. It also alleged that Armstrong received illegal payroll advances and used church money to cover family expenses and costs associated with the Anglican Institute, a conservative think tank he co-founded.

In December he was removed from his priestly duties pending the outcome of the investigation, but he left the Episcopal Church before the process was finished.

Armstrong has said he's the victim of a vendetta by O'Neill because of his conservative views. Last spring, Armstrong led a substantial number of his parishioners out of the Episcopal Church and into a national Anglican network.

In a statement Wednesday, the diocese praised the trial as "the culmination of a well-defined disciplinary process established by the canons of the Episcopal Church."

The five-member court is composed of three clergy and two laity who are elected at the diocese's state convention. It operates independently of the bishop's office, diocesan officials have said in the past.

Armstrong's spokesman, Alan Crippen, said Wednesday that the findings are no surprise.

"We have far more confidence in the civil justice system in the state of Colorado and would be happy to meet the bishop and the diocese there anytime," Crippen said. "We have supreme confidence the good name of our rector will be exonerated."

Last week, the diocese's Denver-based attorney, Hal Haddon, predicted that "a huge civil case" likely would be filed this fall in Colorado Springs based on the ecclesiastical court's findings.

Armstrong's attorney, Dennis Hartley, said the church court's findings have no standing in any secular court of law.

"In any criminal or civil arena outside this ecclesiastical kangaroo (court), this goes nowhere," Hartley said.

What's next?

• The Rev. Don Armstrong has 30 days to respond to the ecclesiastical court's preliminary findings, which were issued Wednesday.

• After 30 days, the case returns to the court for its recommended sentencing. It can include a reprimand, suspension or permanent removal of Armstrong from ministry as an Episcopal priest.

• Bishop Rob O'Neill imposes the final sentence. He can concur with the court's recommendation or he can lessen it. But under canon law he can't increase the penalty.

torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5055

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