Attorney General Jeff Sessions in 2017. (Public Domain)
According to the official site of the United Methodist Church, “more than 600 United Methodist clergy and laity say they are bringing church law charges against U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a fellow United Methodist, over a zero tolerance U.S. immigration policy—a policy that includes separating children from parents apprehended for crossing into the U.S. illegally.”
The site shared a June 18 letter, saying that Sessions, a fellow Methodist, has violated “Paragraph 2702.3 of the denomination’s Book of Discipline,” noting that the zero tolerance policy is tantamount to child abuse.
This is the full letter:
The UMC story did note that bring church charges against a lay person is rare, but, as the article stated, “the group’s goal in filing charges was to prompt such discussions.”
According to the article, “the Book of Discipline allows for a church trial and even expulsion of a lay member, but the first step in a long process would be for the member’s pastor and district superintendent to solve the complaint through ‘pastoral steps,'” an authority on Methodist theology said.
