News media in the Albany, New York, area report that a defense motion to drop misdemeanor criminal charges against the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal, Fr. Michael Greene, has been denied.
Albany police charged Greene with criminal mischief, alleging that he slashed the tires of a vehicle belonging to a woman who previously worked for the church.
The victim alleges that the vandalism is the result of a tumultuous relationship that Greene initiated almost immediately after she began work for the church. Emails, texts, and other evidence suggest fierce arguments and angry recriminations marked the relationship.
The victim states that she did not wish to pursue a relationship with Greene and stopped work within a month of her arrival.
Defense counsel contends that snippets of video from the garage showing his client approaching the vehicle and leaving it soon after do not reflect any criminal activity, adding that his client was there to leave a note on the vehicle.
Greene is presumed innocent as a matter of law.
However, given the acrimonious nature of the correspondence between the alleged victim and Greene and the latter’s purported boundary issues with church contractors, Anglican Watch believes there is ample reason to question Greene’s suitability for ministry.
Specifically, there is no fact pattern in which dating a person under a clergyperson’s supervision is anything other than abusive.
The same is true for anyone currently or previously under a clergyperson’s pastoral care, with the very limited exception of specific arrangements made through the relevant bishop, which invariably involve one or both persons leaving their current parish.
We also believe that the alleged behavior suggests that Greene is a troubled individual in need of mental health care, with seeming difficulty in resolving conflict appropriately and a disturbing propensity for violence.
The church did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional details: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/judge-rules-case-alleged-tire-slashing-priest-19469665.php
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Everyone deserves healthy relationships
If you have someone in your life who makes you afraid, who hurts you, your children, or your pets, damages or destroys your possessions, or threatens to do so, it is important to get help immediately. Visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline, or call 1.800.799.7233. Help is free, confidential, and available 24/7.
Maybe this is a stupid question… given that Father Michael Greene has a pending domestic violence charge, is he still active an active priest for St. Paul’s Episcopal?
He’s been suspended for the time being, although the parish foolishly still lists him as their rector.
Clericalism much, St. Paul’s?