Alan Gates, the deeply corrupt Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, has announced his retirement.
In a letter posted on the diocesan website, Gates announced plans to retire at the end of 2024. Additionally, he has called for the election of his successor, and indicated that the Rt. Rev. Susan Gallagher will continue as assisting bishop through the end of Gate’s tenure.
Gates has announced that Todd Ousley, the head of the Office of Pastoral Development, will be meeting with the diocesan standing committee next week. Ousley is in the process of transferring his Title IV responsibilities to an incoming staff member, after years of Ousley’s flagrently violating church disciplinary canons and other ethics violations.
Gates arrived in his current position following the retirement of Tom Shaw, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before the election of Gates as his successor. Shaw’s predecessor, David Johnson, often regarded as strict on matters of personal integrity, committed suicide while in office. It was subsequently learned that he had various exploitative extramarital affairs over the course of his ministry.
Similarly, Gates’ tenure brought lasting discredit on the diocese over his refusal to adhere to the provisions of the Title IV disciplinary canons, including:
- The requirement that all matters complained of are assumed to be true at intake.
- The requirement that a pastoral response be provided in every instance in which a complaint is made to an intake officer.
- The requirement that the church seek to resolve conflicts in a manner consistent with its purported theology; Gates instead tells complainants that they must take their complaints to court.
Indeed, even in the current Title IV case now underway in the diocese, Gates purportedly has ignored the requirement of a pastoral response to the alleged victim of sexual harassment.
Since Gates was consecrated in 2014, the diocese of Massachusetts has shed approximately 17.8% of its membership.
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