Theos-Talk Archives (April 2011 Message tt00182)

The statement quoted below is very troubling.

"This decision creates an "island" of a renegade lodge functioning within
our midst, falsely representing the
Society and its principles. The situation is particularly troubling as it
has major implications for all Sections now facing the possibility of the
International President countermanding their disciplinary decisions."

MKR Comments:

Alleging that the lodge is falsely representing the Society and its
principles, sounds like what we hear from cults which have fixed beliefs and
principles. Hence it is the duty of TSA to clarify, in detail, with
supporting evidence as to in what way the lodge is (1) renegade and (2)
falsely representing the Society and its principles and what is the
definition of 'true' representation of the Society and its principles as
viewed by the Board of Directors of TSA.

Second is the red herring of International President countermanding the
disciplinary decisions of Sections. While the Sections are autonomous, for
due process, an appeal to the International President is provided for in the
rules so that arbitrary decisions of the Section can be reviewed for
fairness and either accepted or rejected.

What the the statement implies is that any decision of the Section on
charter withdrawal should not be reviewed by International President and the
International President is to act as a rubber stamp.

That would be most unfair to any lodge which may be facing action based on
flimsy or unfounded reasons and contrary to all democratic principles.
Autonomy and due process are fundamental to democratic principles.

MKR



On Thu, Apr 28, 2011 at 9:40 AM, MKR <mkr777@DvbhDfu6jcnIcPVTAKW8B5_bVpA6YYEe114sqvNUcEbURFRHt4g2BKo7wvTf37RZW51iQi2oxeID.yahoo.invalid> wrote:

>
>
> Quoted below is a statement by Mo Michel, Eastern Director of TSA which
> appeared in the recent issue of Messenger, the official magazine of
> Theosophical Society in America.. I am posting it so that readers can see
> for themselves what the official comment on the attempted closure of 75yr
> old Orlando Lodge. I will be posting a separate msg touching on some of the
> points in the letter.
>
> MKR
> +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
>
> âThere has been a long history of difficulty with the operation of the
> Orlando Lodge. A review of the many incidents documented by past members of
> the lodge and of the petition for corrective action by the Florida
> Federation Board of Directors, led the National Board of Directors' to
> first
> de-list the Orlando Lodge, and then to withdraw the charter of the lodge.
> In
> addition, the National Board voted to pursue legal action to recover the
> assets of the lodge in accordance with the dissolution-of-assets clause of
> the Orlando Lodge's bylaws. This action was based upon the fiduciary
> responsibility of the TSA Board to protect the assets of Theosophical
> groups
> for the work of the TSA in the group's area. It is in accordance with the
> by-laws of the national organization.
>
> The situation was complicated by the defunct Orlando Lodge successfully
> petitioning the International President of the Theosophical Society to
> recognize the Orlando Lodge as a Theosophical Lodge attached directly to
> the
> international organization. The decision came as a complete surprise, as
> the
> situation had been previously reviewed with the International President,
> and
> our case was well-documented.
>
> A number of petitions to have this decision reversed were submitted to the
> International President, to no avail. This decision creates an "island" of
> a
> renegade lodge functioning within our midst, falsely representing the
> Society and its principles. The situation is particularly troubling as it
> has major implications for all Sections now facing the possibility of the
> International President countermanding their disciplinary decisions.
>
> The TSA has been advised by counsel, that without a reversal decision by
> the
> international organization, we do not have a viable case for recovery of
> assets. Thus, this action by the International President has damaged the
> American Section's possibility of recouping legal expenses already
> incurred,
> as well as losing the possibility for the use of lodge assets for viable
> Theosophical work in the lodge's area.
>
> In a March 2 conference call, the TSA Board voted to dismiss the current
> law
> suit "Without Prejudice/' This action leaves us with the opportunity to
> re-file the case in the event the International President reverses her
> decision to attach the Orlando Lodge to the international organization. The
> National Board will make a final determination on future actions if and
> when
> the Orlando Lodge is severed from, the international organization.â
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]