Father Wendt Found Guilty of Disobeying His Bishop
Diocesan Press Service. June 11, 1975 [75221]
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Rev. William A. Wendt, rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Stephen and the Incarnation in Washington, D.C., has been found guilty of disobeying a "godly admonition" of Bishop William F. Creighton in permitting the Rev. Alison Cheek to celebrate the Eucharist in his church last November.
By a vote of 3 to 2 the ecclesiastical court of the Diocese of Washington recommended that Fr. Wendt merely be admonished by Bishop Creighton for his act. This was the least severe sentence which could have been recommended by the court, which could have temporarily suspended him or removed him from the priesthood.
The decision was split along clergy-lay lines, with the three clergy judge/jurors -- the Rev. William Draper, Jr., the Rev. H. Albion Ferrell, and the Rev. Charles Martin -- finding Fr. Wendt guilty, and the chief judge and the sole woman member of the court, both lay attorneys -- Llewellyn C. Thomas and Janet C. McCaa -- strongly dissenting.
The majority said that they believed Fr. Wendt "acted in obedience to his conscience" when he disobeyed the "godly admonition" of Bishop Creighton by allowing Ms. Cheek to celebrate communion at St. Stephen's. They declined, however, to judge the validity of the disputed ordination to the priesthood of Ms. Cheek and 10 other women in Philadelphia on July 29, 1974.
The majority said that when an act of conscience "is in accordance with the will of God is not easily determined. " Fr. Wendt, they concluded, by his act of conscience, "declared his perception of the will of God to be more valid than that of the bishop."
In an 11-page minority opinion, Judge Thomas and Ms. McCaa said that "the eligibility of women for the priesthood is the only real issue. "They argued that Bishop Creighton's "godly admonition" was based on the erroneous assumption that Ms. Cheek was merely a deacon, when in fact she was a validly ordained priest.
"We interpret Canon II, Title 3, as allowing the ordination of women to the priesthood and are firmly of the opinion that the Rev. Alison Cheek was a priest from the time of her ordination on July 29, 1974, " the two lay members of the court said.
Fr. Wendt said he would either appeal the decision to a court of review or ask for a retrial, though he did not specify on what-grounds. If there is no appeal, Bishop Creighton has 30 days to respond to the recommendation of the court. He cannot exceed the recommended sentence of the court.