The petitioner sought a faculty for an inscription on a cremation plaque. It did not comply with the parish's policy limiting the amount of text inscribed on a plaque to the names and dates of the deceased, together with a short biblical quote or words of comfort.
The court referred to the ‘merits-based’ approach commended in re St Giles, Exhall [2021] EACC 1. A merits-based approach included the consideration of wider pastoral concerns which might arise from the grant or refusal of a faculty. Where a policy has been conscientiously applied in the past, it did not fetter the discretion of the incumbent or the court; but it would be unjust for it to be over-ridden save for good cause or exceptional reason, and there was no good cause or exceptional reason in the present case. The court invited the petitioner to accept a shortened inscription (albeit one which still breached the parish's policy), in default of which the petition would be dismissed. [DW]
