Two Presbyterian staff members who met with Hezbollah are fired
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, November 12, 2004
Two high-level Presbyterian Church (USA) employees have been fired in the aftermath of their taking part in a controversial meeting with a representative of Hezbollah, a group blamed for murdering hundreds of Americans and Israelis.
Kathy Leuckert, deputy executive associate director of the General Assembly Council, and Peter Sulyok, coordinator of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy, were notified that they were no longer employed by the Presbyterian Church (USA), according to a memo released Thursday morning by John Detterick, the executive director of the General Assembly Council.
The Presbyterian News Service broke the story about the firings on Thursday. The Courier-Journal of Louisville published an account of the matter this morning.
Detterick did not spell out the reasons for their termination, but Leuckert and Sulyok were two of the staff leaders who were with 22 other Presbyterians on a “fact-finding” trip to the Mideast.
Two elected members of that delegation – Ron Stone and Nile Harper – prompted a wave of criticism from Jews, Presbyterians and the secular press because of comments they made to Hezbollah media that were viewed to be anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.
Hezbollah media did not quote any comments by Leuckert or Sulyok. But Detterick, Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and Moderator Rick Ufford Chase, responding to the flareup over the televised remarks by Stone and Harper, said they had advised the group before the trip not to meet with Hezbollah.
Leuckert, Detterick’s top deputy, and Sulyok were the two highest ranking staff members on the trip, which was sponsored primarily by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.
Detterick’s memo did not directly link the firings of Leuckert and Sulyok with the decision to go to Lebanon to meet with a Hezbollah leader. In the memo to the staff at the denomination’s headquarters in Louisville, Detterick implied that legal reasons prevented him from disclosing why the two staffers were fired.
Leuckert was the second-highest paid employee in the Office of the Executive Director of the General Assembly Council with a pay and benefit package worth $155,310, according to the Minutes of the 2003 General Assembly. Detterick’s pay and benefit package was listed at $207,146.
There was no mention in the memo of any action that might be taken against Stone, a retired professor of ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and Harper, a retired minister who is the chairman of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy. Both are elected members of the committee and, therefore, not under Detterick’s authority.
During an interview with a Hezbollah-owned television station, Stone said, “As an elder of our church, I’d like to say that, according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders.”
“Also, we praise your initiative for dialogue and mutual understanding,” Stone added. “We cherish these statements that bring us closer to you. We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill.”
Harper, who lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., criticized as “unhelpful” Israel’s defensive separation barrier and said products made by U.S. corporations “are being used destructively against the Palestinians. The occupation by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza must end because it is oppressive and destructive for the Palestinian people.”
Detterick said he intends to begin searching for an interim deputy executive director before the year’s end. The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy will report to Curtis Kearns, director of the National Ministries Division.
“It is with sadness that I tell you that Kathy Lueckert’s tenure as deputy executive director has come to an end today,” Detterick said in his memo. “Kathy has made contributions to the work of the GAC and for that I will always be very grateful … I am also sorry to tell you that Peter Sulyok is leaving the GAC. Peter, too, has contributed much, especially to the work of ACSWP.”
He concluded, “I know these decisions raise many questions for staff, but please realize that all staff have the right to confidentiality regarding their employment. Therefore, this is all I can say. I am keeping Kathy and Peter in my prayers and hope you will also.”
Lueckert was responsible for several major GAC operations, including communications, mission funding, human resources, social policy development, women’s and racial ethnic concerns and its legal and research arms.
Sulyok has headed the PCUSA’s social policy development since February, 1993.