Unofficial Watchdog of the Episcopal Church
Earlier today, the Church of England’s Church News, published an excellent synopsis of the Makin Report, which revealed an ongoing cover-up of the abuse of more than 100 boys by the late John Smyth. The report flags multiple bishops beyond Welby complicit in the cover-up, and flags yet another lie
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Anglican Watch has long strived to avoid politics despite our facially obvious progressive bent. We also welcome and respect all political views, recognizing that the Kingdom of God is not reserved for any one group, and if it were, we’d probably be the last to know. That said, we believe
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Dear Survivors of Abuse, News of abuse can stir up echoes of past wounds, drawing painful memories to the forefront for survivors. We understand that this painful remembering can bring feelings of powerlessness and a sense of being overwhelmed. With this in mind, we write to offer care and comfort,
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Diocese of Easton bishop Santosh Marray, the subject of multiple Title IV complaints, announced his resignation earlier today, effective in 2026. He served previously in the Seychelles. Marray is the subject of multiple Title IV complaints, alleging abusive behavior and inappropriate comments towards LGBTQ+ clergy. Additionally, he allegedly violated mandatory
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London — Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, first among equals in the Anglican Communion, has announced his resignation. The move comes soon after release of a damning report that shows how Welby and other church officials repeatedly ignored, covered up, and brushed off allegations of abuse by the late John
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In matters of church abuse, we can loosely organize perpetrators into two categories: Those who actively abuse others and those who refuse to act to end abuse. In that regard, Anglican Watch is deeply concerned that Bruce McDowell, a former minister at Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian, recently preached at the church,
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On a day when many are reflecting on issues of organizational and collective integrity, there is good news from within the Episcopal Church. Specifically, incoming Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe has removed corrupt Bishop Todd Ousley from all involvement in the Title IV process for bishops as a precursor to Ousley’s
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On November 2, 2024, the Episcopal Church installed Bishop Sean Rowe for a nine-year term as the denomination’s presiding bishop. Shortly afterward, Rowe made a series of personnel and related announcements, which Anglican Watch believes portend good news for the church. This post discusses these announcements and several related topics,
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Michael Greene, the 50-year-old rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Albany, has pleaded guilty to a non-criminal charge of trespassing, shortly before trial was set to begin for charges of criminal mischief. Under the previous charges, Greene could have faced 15 days in jail as well as financial penalties.
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Editor Eric Bonetti is out this week, continuing plans to donate a kidney. Our deputy editor is in charge and wrote this article. Someone recently asked me why I haven’t posted much on Anglican Watch lately. I don’t really know the answer to that question, but a big part of
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Anglican Watch notes with sadness the passing of Virginia bishop Mark Stevenson’s beloved wife Joy, who passed yesterday after a lengthy illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with Stevenson and those he loves. May Joy rest in peace and rise in glory, and the peace of God that passes all understanding
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Every evening, as night falls and darkness spreads its long, icy fingers across the land, silence descends like a pall upon the cathedrals, churches and graveyards of The Episcopal Church. Buildings that, only a few hours earlier, were bustling and full and life, stand empty in the dark. Or do
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This is another late-breaking opinion piece from your pal, Stinkbomb, who had the misfortune of watching the Celebration of a Renewed Ministry at Grace Episcopal Alexandria last night, which involved Ted Gulick, who officiated, and Anne Turner, who flung holy water on everyone there but herself. Editor Eric Bonetti is
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Anglican Watch has repeatedly covered the allegations of child rape involving Episcopal priest Richard Losch, who is canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. We have received updated information on the case. As we previously reported, subsequent to our initial reports, Massachusetts indicted Losch earlier this year. The criminal
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The old saying about the devil being in the details is often true. And it’s never as true as when we consider proposals to redeem a corrupt clergyperson like Anne Turner, whom the Diocese of Virginia suspended a year ago for adultery from her position as rector of Grace Episcopal
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For many years, there has been a long-simmering scandal involving the US military and its reluctance to address sexual harassment and assault against women connected to the armed forces. Similarly, the debacle of the Southern Baptist Convention and its refusal to take abuse seriously continues, even as the denomination talks
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In a decision released earlier today, the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta declined to act in a Title IV case against Ben Day, the rector of Christ Church, Kennesaw, GA. At issue is that various parties directly injured by Day’s alleged misconduct have declined to testify in the matter. While we
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The long-simmering conflict involving an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Chicago, Will Bouvel, and his alleged perjury directed at a conservative church member, attorney David Duggan, has gone to litigation with mixed results. The legal action follows years of failed efforts by Duggan to obtain redress through the denomination’s
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The Falls Church (TFC), one of the earliest Episcopal Churches in the US, recently released a study of the church’s complicity in slavery, including a series of recommendations to address the issue in the future. The recommendations in the report comprise: Speak the truth about TFC’s ties to slavery Seek
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An Episcopal parish in the Diocese of San Diego has filed a Title IV appeal following the dismissal of their complaint against Bishop Susan Brown Snook (“Bishop Susan”) by the national church. Anglican Watch remains deeply concerned about the case, including Bishop Susan’s failure to resolve the parish’s underlying concerns of
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Over the years, one of our most popular posts has been the reprint of the late Danni Moss’ article about serial bullies. Regrettably, a high percentage of clergy fit the bill, with one expert we consulted estimating that fully a third of clergy are serial bullies, or predators. A new
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Previously, we reported on the ongoing saga of Episcopal priest Daniel McClain, rector-elect of St. Paul’s, Dayton, which covers a wide array of issues, including living with another woman while still married to his wife, his abusive conduct toward parishioners and his alleged misuse of church funds, resulting in our
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Right Wing Watch, an online publication of the non-profit advocacy group People For, reports that Austin, TX-based Pastor Joel Webbon is advocating public execution of women who falsely report being sexually assaulted, adding that a few such killings would quickly put an end to the #MeToo movement. Webbon made his
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On October 19, 2024, representatives and clergy of the Diocese of Bethlehem, and the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, will gather at State College, PA in an agreed upon joint convention of both dioceses. On the agenda is a proposal that the two dioceses re-unite and become one after 100 years
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Diocesan officials announced earlier today that former Diocese of California bishop Marc Andrus has been suspended from ministry as a result of allegations of an inappropriate relationship with an adult while serving as bishop diocesan. The move illustrates the denomination’s dated approach to ethics and clergy discipline. The suspension was
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One of our favorite sister publications is Floodlit.org, which covers abuse in the Latter-day Saint (LDS) denomination. Floodlit does a wonderful job in covering issues church that uses its wealth and power to cover-up abuse, even as it talks a good game. Candidly, although no one here is LDS, we
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Disclosure: Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti is a former member of Grace Episcopal Church. Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA, has invited rector Anne Turner to return to ministry following the Diocese of Virginia’s suspension of her for adultery. While Diocesan officials have approved the decision, Anglican Watch believes it is unwise
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More than two years ago, Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti and another individual filed Title IV clergy disciplinary complaints against Dallas bishop George Sumner. The original complaint filed by Bonetti was received by Bishop Todd Ousley, then the national intake officer for bishops, via email, who acknowledged receipt of the complaint. When
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In early 2024, Episcopal priest Nicholas Szobota, rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Colonial Beach, Virginia, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of embezzlement, one misdemeanor account of embezzlement, and two felony counts of using a computer to commit embezzlement. Victims include St. Mary’s and the Colonial Beach Volunteer
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These days, there’s not much coming out of Texas that we like. But local Texas officials got it right when they arrested a former teacher and the Head of School at St. John’s Episcopal School in Abilene. Local media report that last July police arrested former St. John’s teacher Kelsey Alexander and Head
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The Episcopal Church is not the only denomination in which corrupt responses to abuse are causing financial and membership declines. Indeed, in a recent announcement, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) shared plans to sell its Nashville-based world headquarters following massive expenditures due to decades of ignoring abuse, silencing victims, resisting
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According to local media, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk routinely violates constitutional rights by secretly recording meetings between defendants and their attorneys, as well as other visitors to Funk’s offices. The reports are based on a scathing Tennessee comptroller’s office report, which was developed in conjunction with the Tennessee
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The Tycho Supernova – NASA Reprinted with permission from The Wartburg Watch. Original here. Should be required reading for Bishop Lucinda Ashby and her minions at the Diocese of El Camino Real — and everyone else who thinks that having a sex offender policy is adequate to protect minors and
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We weren’t planning on a post today, as it’s a grey, rainy Monday morning. But this image of an email between Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Governor Bill Lee about the death of Grant Solomon crossed our desks this morning, and it’s worth covering. The Gallatin goofy loop At
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The Episcopal Church has announced a very limited number of in-person attendees for the investiture of incoming presiding bishop Sean Rowe, set for November 2 and held in the 129-seat Chapel of Christ the Lord in The Episcopal Church Center in New York City. Touted as including “diverse representation from
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Not surprisingly, Anglican Watch gets a lot of emails. These emails run the gamut, from tips about abusive conduct to people with needs we cannot address to folks trying to threaten us into taking down adverse information. In fact, there are so many we cannot hope to answer them all. But there
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David Valencia, a former Anglican priest who was sentenced to prison and required to register as a sex offender following a conviction for sexually assaulting a teenaged girl, has resurfaced in Florida. Sources tell Anglican Watch that Valencia moved to Florida from Ligonier, PA, after local residents realized that he was
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Ever work at an organization in crisis? A place where things are so bad that the only thing to do is to start over? If so, you’ll feel a sense of déjà vu when you learn that sources close to the matter tell Anglican Watch that Grace Chapel, located in
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Narrow Gate is a Tennessee-based, evangelical wilderness program ministry that works with young men 18 – 25 who are seeking to “Discover a Life That Matters.” But the group’s slogan, “Identity. Passion. Purpose.,” took on a whole new meaning when we recently learned that the organization is hosting an event celebrating
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As we move into fall, there are several stories Anglican Watch is working on. We expect a major breaking story, possibly in the next few days, involving a key religious leader outside the Episcopal Church. Stay tuned! September 10 marks the start of the Dan McClain divorce trial, which we likely
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The following is reprinted by permission from Christa Brown’s excellent publication, In Solidarity. A victim of abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention, Brown has been a forerunner in the drive for accountability. She is the author of Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation. ### The Texas Supreme Court erroneously released
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The Tennessee Star has released a PDF of one of Covenant shooter Audrey Hale’s journals, following lengthy efforts by victims’ families to prevent publication. The document, which we post below, is in places crude and graphic, while failing to answer many of the questions around the shooting, including whether Hale
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TLD: It’s time for Bishop Lucinda Ashby and ECR Director of Communications Carole Bartolini to tender their resignations As the scandal grows over Episcopal Bishop Lucinda Ashby’s handling of a registered sex offender in her diocese, Anglican Watch is increasingly concerned about the Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR) and its misleading
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Media today responded to reports, first covered on Anglican Watch, that Bishop Lucinda Ashby and the Diocese of El Camino Real mishandled the presence of a registered sex offender at a church within the Diocese. Anglican Watch stands by its reporting and reiterates that both the Diocese and Ashby failed
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The following is reprinted with permission from friend Shannon Ashley’s wonderful SubStack publication, The Truth Hurts. Please consider supporting Shannon, a single mother who is struggling with a variety of health challenges. She is a dear and loyal friend. Apropos Phil Williams and his claim that Angie Solomon is “crazy,”
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Recently, we covered the Title IV clergy disciplinary complaint filed against San Diego Bishop Susan Brown Snook. Today’s post is an update on that situation. Sources close to the matter tell Anglican Watch that the intake officer for bishops, the Rev. Barb Kempf, dismissed the matter. An appeal appears imminent. But there’s
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Anglican Watch has received a copy of a Title IV complaint filed with the national church against Bishop Susan Brown Snook (“Bishop Susan” or “Snook”) of the Diocese of San Diego. The complaint, filed by leaders of a parish in her diocese, alleges a variety of actions by Snook that have:
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In its response to a recent article in the Christian Post about its bungled response to a child sexual predator, the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real and Bishop Lucinda Ashby again demonstrated a lack of integrity and accountability on issues involving the presence of a registered sex offender at one or more
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If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. Desmond Tutu If an elephant has its foot
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It’s long been a fundamental tenet within private companies that illegal conduct by an employee can and should result in immediate termination. Yet the Episcopal Church, which far too often treats Title IV, the clergy disciplinary canon, as the only solution to clergy misconduct, almost invariably ignores criminal conduct and
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Recently, Anglican Watch passed along to Reynoldsburg City Schools our profound concerns about the possibility that Dan McClain will teach in the schools. The response, while unsurprising, illustrates profound problems with the school system and Dr. Tracy Reed, the school system superintendent. To be clear, we were careful to flag the fact
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Earlier today, Archbishop Welby’s son, Tim Welby, spoke out about his father’s resignation, saying that his position had become untenable due to the increasing clamor for his resignation. Predictably enough, the trolls came out in force, running interference for Welby and claiming he was taking responsibility for his mistakes. On
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