By Eleanor Momberg
The suspension of former Joburg Central Methodist Church bishop Paul Verryn has been lifted.
This means that the cleric, who was suspended in January pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing, will return to the pulpit this morning, delivering the early morning and evening services at the church in Prichard Street.
The controversial cleric was suspended by Presiding Bishop Ivan Abrahams a day after receiving notice informing him to attend a disciplinary hearing on February 1 on two charges.
The first charge related to the alleged institution of legal proceedings in December last year for the appointment of a curator ad litem to safeguard the interests of unaccompanied minors living at the Central Methodist Church.
It was claimed that Verryn had instituted the legal proceedings, from which he had withdrawn once the matter went to court, without authority and/or without doing so in the name of the presiding bishop or executive secretary.
The second charge related to the cleric making media statements after being instructed not to do so.
At the time Verryn disputed the charges, and opposed the institution of disciplinary proceedings against him.
The Legal Resources Centre, which acted on his behalf in the matter, also formally referred the dispute between Verryn and Abrahams, which was said to be the reason behind the disciplinary charges, for arbitration, asking that the disciplinary hearing be postponed pending mediation in terms of the laws and discipline of the church.
That mediation process took three months.
"The essence of it was that the charge has been set aside on the basis that the district disciplinary registrar is also the church's legal adviser and that was deemed to be an apprehension of bias," said Peter le Motte, the arbitrator in the case.
This meant that Verryn's suspension had immediately been lifted.
Because the merits of the case were not dealt with and the cleric was cleared on a technicality, it meant that he could be charged again later by another district disciplinary registrar on the same charges should the church decide to pursue the matter.
"He has not been cleared completely because he has not appeared before a disciplinary committee," said Le Motte, who had considered written submissions and responses from all parties to written arguments before handing down his ruling.
A clearly happy Verryn would yesterday not comment on the ruling.
Wendy Landau of Friends of Paul Verryn said she was very happy that the cleric had been cleared.
"It was great news. He (Verryn) called me on Friday to give me the news. Obviously the Friends are delighted that he has been vindicated. We are just sad that it took three months," said Landau.
Verryn last year resigned as presiding bishop of the Central Methodist Church, which provided shelter to thousands of Zimbabwean refugees, following criticism over social problems arising from the squalid conditions.
Verryn's public suspension led to speculation that he was linked to the allegations of sexual abuse of children at the church which surfaced in October last year.
Director of the Centre for Child Law Ann Skelton was appointed legal curator of the church by the Johannesburg High Court in December following an application by the Aids Law Project. Her duties included having to compile a report on conditions at the church.
The report, presented to the court in February, found that although the church was an unsuitable shelter for children, it was their only option given that government assistance was lacking.
The report stated that unaccompanied children should not have been allowed to gather in large numbers at the Central Methodist Church, which was an "unsuitable place for children".
It also stated that the fact remained that the church was "providing shelter and assistance to a group of children to whom little or no assistance was, initially, being offered by the state".