The Catholic Charities Clothes Bank is seeking a ruling in court regarding ownership of its facilities. The non-profit group says Bishop Fred Henry claims he must hold title to the facilities, even though they have been purchased and operated by a local board of volunteers. Herald photo by Ian Martens

Dave Mabell
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
A church charity in Lethbridge has taken its bishop to court.
The Catholic Charities Clothes Bank is seeking a judge's ruling that they own two buildings they've used for up to 30 years for their used-clothing operations.
The non-profit group says Bishop Fred Henry and the diocese claim title to the facilities, purchased and operated by a local board of volunteers. It presented its arguments this week during a Court of Queen's Bench hearing in Lethbridge.
Board chair Charles Kiely says the decision to seek a court ruling came after the charity began losing money - and after nearly five years of discussing the situation with officials of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary, which controls denominational activity across all of southern Alberta.
The Lethbridge board has been unable to rearrange its finances, Kiely says, because banks ask for buildings or property as collateral. Contacted in Calgary, chief operating officer Michael Chan says the diocese will make no comment while the matter is before the court.
Following this week's hearing, Queen's Bench Justice Vaughn Hembroff reserved decision.
"Once we see what the judge comes down with, we'll have some serious thinking to do," Kiely says. "You can't keep operating at a loss."
The charity has already closed its only out-of-town store, in Taber, and Kiely says business at its original 5 Street South location dropped considerably after the city's last downtown supermarket closed. Catholic Charities continues operating in rented space on 5 Avenue North and Mayor Magrath Drive South.
Rents have increased, Kiely says, along with salaries for its more than 20 employees. But income has not. And the board has faced unexpected costs.
"There's been a snowballing effect," he says. "It's been one thing on top of another."
With the diocese unwilling to help, Kiely adds, the board decided the only way it could put its finances in order was to regain control of the buildings. Lethbridge lawyer Jim Farrington presented the board's case during the hearing.
"The issue in this special chambers application is whether an entity which purchased two properties using its own funds is entitled to hold title to those properties in its own name," he said.
The charity is a separate legal entity, he said.
"The CCCB believes that the properties which it paid for belong to it, both legally and beneficially."
The bishop is represented by a downtown Calgary law firm, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. It says the charity is "an agency of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary and is subject to the authority of the bishop." The courts should not concern themselves "with the administrative decisions made by the bishop," the judge was told. "This application should be dismissed in its entirety."
Farrington says he expects a ruling later this spring.