Unofficial Watchdog of the Episcopal Church
Following an interview in which former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby attributed his failure to address abuse on the scope of the problem, the Church of England issued the following statement. Anglican Watch reminds readers that, in the Episcopal Church, more than a dozen church officials, including former presiding bishop Michael
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NEWS PROVIDED BY Anglican Watch March 31, 2025 ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 31, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — A criminal trial of Episcopal priest and alleged child rapist Richard Losch is set for April 8-9, 2025 in the Grafton New Hampshire Superior Court. The case is State v. Richard Losch, docket: 215-2023-CR-0609. The
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Anglican Watch continues to follow the criminal case involving Episcopal priest Richard Losch and the church’s feckless response to the allegations. With that in mind, we remind readers and members of the media that the Grafton Superior Court (N.H.) will hear the Losch criminal case on April 8 and 9.
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It’s no secret that Anglican Watch sources much of its information from whistleblowers. Given the general importance of whistleblowers to accountability, good governance, and national security, we thought this might be a good time to share some best practices on information/operational security and how to communicate safely with a media
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Phil Snyder, a whistleblower and former member of Tenth Presbyterian (PCA) church in Philadelphia, Pa., who achieved widespread recognition after the church tried to silence him via fabricated civil claims that Snyder was threatening members of the congregation, has issued a statement calling on Wheaton College president Phil Ryken to
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The Diocese of East Tennessee has deposed Chattanooga Episcopal priest Brad Whittaker following a multi-week Title IV clergy misconduct investigation. Whittaker, who served as rector of St. Paul’s for nine years prior to his retirement, was previously in the news as the first person in the area to contract COVID.
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We have an update in the ongoing saga of the Title IV clergy misconduct case against Episcopal priest Dan McClain, who is canonically resident in the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Specifically, McClain’s manipulation and lack of accountability continue unabated. In a Motion for Summary Judgment filed with the church hearing
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The following was sent via the newswires on March 17, 2025. Anglican Watch, a leading church watchdog group, is sounding the alarm over declining trust in the Episcopal Church’s Title IV, the denomination’s labyrinthine and slow-moving clergy disciplinary process. In doing so, the organization is calling for Presiding Bishop Sean
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Bishop Santosh Marray, the subject of a badly handled Title IV clergy disciplinary case, is continuing to diminish trust among laity and clergy within the struggling Diocese of Easton following a poorly managed diocesan convention. Tellingly, the convention started unable to transact business, as it did not achieve the quorum
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The following is reprinted with permission from Christa Brown’s excellent publication In Solidarity. The original is here. The U.S. Department of Justice has now shut down its investigation into sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention. So say attorneys for the SBC Executive Committee who assert that the DOJ notified them today
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Corrupt bishop Todd Ousley, recently released from his previous role as Bishop for Pastoral Development, has been elected bishop provisional of the faltering Diocese of Wyoming. The news comes despite Ousley’s deliberate mishandling of multiple Title IV clergy disciplinary cases involving Episcopal bishops, in which Ousley asserted that he could
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Anglican Watch recently forwarded our concerns about national Title IV intake officer for bishops Barb Kempf to senior church officials. The result was all too predictable: We got the big brush-off from Chief Legal Officer Kent Anker and HR Director Michael Walsh. Our position is clear: No Episcopal Church employee
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Earlier, we reported on a wave of improper and canonically illegal Title IV dismissals against bishops by intake officer Barb Kempf. Now, Anglican Watch has learned that the national church has bollixed the Title IV complaints against Easton Bishop Santosh Marray, thus further cementing our conclusion that clergy discipline under
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Dr. Phil Ryken’s portrait needs to be removed from Tenth Presbyterian. Here’s why: Dr. Ryken’s sordid legacy at Tenth: While Youth Minister Carroll Wynne was patting young women’s bottoms (a criminal offense against underage girls), Director of Music Paul S. Jones was beating young men’s bare buttocks to a bloody
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Tenth Presbyterian (PCA), located in Philadelphia, Pa., recently held a congregational meeting to discuss the GRACE report about abuse at the church and for leadership to “confess” to its role in abuse at the church. As this publication had predicted, the meeting turned out to be nothing but badly done
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ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 28, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — Anglican Watch, a watchdog group for the Episcopal Church, is calling for the immediate resignation of the Rev. Barb Kempf, who serves as the national intake officer for complaints against bishops under the church’s Title IV clergy disciplinary processes. The move follows
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There has been much misinformation about the Title IV clergy disciplinary case involving Easton Bishop Santosh Marray, much of it coming directly from Marray and his loyalists. This post addresses that misinformation and is based on Anglican Watch’s independent research. Claim: The Title IV case against Marray is the result
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In the slow-moving saga of abuse and corruption at Tenth Presbyterian (PCA) Philadelphia, the name of former deaconess Susan Elzey often comes up following Anglican Watch’s discovery that she had sexual relations in a Lancaster, Pa., park with Senior Pastor Liam Goligher. As part of that discussion, we have received
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As discussions continue regarding Todd Ousley as the prospective bishop provisional for Wyoming, it is worth exploring the myriad ways in which Ousley has sandbagged the Title IV process during his time in the Office of Pastoral Development and his countless instances of corruption. Ousley ignores child rape and mandatory
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The father of one of the girls allegedly sexually assaulted by youth minister Carroll Wynne during Phil Ryken’s time as Senior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian (PCA) in Philadelphia has come forward to urge Ryken to resign as president of Wheaton College. Anglican Watch joins in calling for Ryken’s immediate resignation. In a
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The Rt. Rev’d Sarah Mullally is the Bishop of London in the Church of England. Her comments, reprinted below concerning accountability, proper process, appropriate management, and timeliness, apply equally to the Episcopal Church. Ed. IN THE story of Christ’s presentation in the Temple, the words that always catch my breath
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A 100-year-old assisted living facility resident, Jean Bruce Poole, and her neighbor were inadvertently left to their fates by MonteCedro, a non-profit retirement community run by Episcopal Communities & Services, as the Eaton, California wildfires raged nearby. The organization running the facility is associated with the Episcopal Diocese of Los
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Earlier today, Anglican Watch issued the following press release, which calls on Tenth Presbyterian to repent and make restitution over the church’s lies and perjury directed at whistleblower Phil Snyder. Until the church does repent, publicly and in writing, we will continue our efforts to hold the church accountable. We have zero
Continue readingFriends, If you run into issues posting comments, please try from a desktop. We actually run two versions of the site; one for mobile users, the other for desktop users. As with anything mobile, we sometimes run into hiccups. If you still run into issues, please email us using the
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Former Tenth Presbyterian pastor Liam Goligher has been defrocked and barred from taking communion by the PCA’s Philadelphia Presbytery after pleading guilty to adult sex abuse, lying, abuse of power, and more. Anglican Watch first began investigating Tenth Presbyterian and Liam Goligher after church officials committed perjury in civil lawsuits
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Local news reports indicate that Dieune Day, a Haitian pastor wanted by the Haitian National Police on charges of smuggling arms into the county, was arrested in December in the nearby Dominican Republic. Day allegedly was turned over to Haitian officials. Day, a reported ringleader in the smuggling of guns,
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The Central Indiana Presbytery (PCA) has just tried to implicitly threaten fellow blogger Dee Parsons at The Wartburg Watch over her coverage of allegations of misconduct involving pastor Dan Herron, formerly of Hope Presbyterian Church. That was a profoundly stupid move that reflects a lack of common sense and Christian
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Okay, I admit it. There are days blogging about TEC can get really depressing. But I got a heads up this morning that corrupt Todd Ousley mentioned me and Anglican Watch by name in one of his videos pertaining to his efforts to land the Wyoming gig, and hot diggity! Today’s going
Continue readingMoments ago, Anglican Watch released the following press release, which was placed on various newswires and sent to Wyoming media. ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 30, 2025 /Christian Newswire/ — Todd Ousley, the nominee for bishop provisional of Wyoming, has repeatedly ignored egregious cases of clergy misconduct, including a situation involving child rape that was
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Recently, Todd Ousley, former Bishop for Pastoral Development for the Episcopal Church and now the candidate for bishop provisional of Wyoming, issued a series of videos (now on the Wyoming YouTube feed) responding to concerns that he is unqualified to serve as bishop provisional. Anglican Watch has viewed these videos
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The joke around the Anglican Watch virtual offices is that Todd Ousley has a special touch. In fact, it’s called “The Reverse Midas Touch,” and everything he touches turns not to gold, but rather, caca. And so it is with every job Ousley has held in the church. Even when he was
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This post is well outside our usual beat. But we believe it is consistent with our overall perspective, which is that ALL are welcome. We also ardently oppose Christian Nationalism and government abuse of power, so in that sense, this post is spot on. We also hope to help churches
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Anglican Watch has received a number of questions about EDOW Bishop Mariann Budde and her recent speech at the National Cathedral, in which she directly called on Donald Trump to act with mercy towards immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others who are in fear. This is our response. Anglican Watch
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Generally we are fans of Bishop Mariane Budde. Specifically, she is forthright about the fact that her religious views are progressive. She’s also candid about the overall dismal state of parishes in her diocese. And she’s willing to tackle issues like the conflict at All Souls, which was profoundly ugly.
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As we move into 2025 and a new era of politics in Washington, folks at Anglican Watch were heartened to read Virginia Bishop Mark Stevenson’s message this morning about these issues. At the same time, we have to ask if his comments will lead to meaningful action or if they
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Anglican Watch has been following a host of Title IV cases involving bishops since Sean Rowe’s election, and we are experiencing a growing sense of alarm. Specifically, the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, which includes chair Nick Knisely, PB Sean Rowe, and intake officer Barb Kempf, has recently issued several decisions
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One of the things the Episcopal Church likes to loudly — and often falsely — proclaim is that it is a democracy. And so it is in the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming, where the Diocese is holding a special convention on March 5 to “affirm” the sole-source nomination of Bishop
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Disclosure: Grace Episcopal School is part of Grace Episcopal Alexandria, where Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti was a member A recent investigation by Anglican Watch revealed two concerning developments at Grace Episcopal School, located in Alexandria, Virginia. The school is part of Grace Episcopal Church, the only Anglo-Catholic parish in
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In news likely only of interest to church nerds, Virginia priest Cayce Ramey has appealed to the Title IV Court of Appeals over the decision to defrock him for refusing to serve or partake of the Holy Eucharist — a position he claims he takes over his opposition to the
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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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