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 a series of dismissals by Kempf on pretextual bases, including canonically unauthorized factfinding efforts, false and misleading interpretations of church canons, and repeated refusals to obtain needed information from complainants.
In one case, Kempf brushed off a clergy disciplinary complaint against retired Massachusetts bishop Alan Gates involving taking a child across state lines for purposes of sexual abuse. Gates failed to report the matter to law enforcement as required by state law and church policy.
“When incoming presiding bishop Sean Rowe took office, and with the departure of corrupt Bishop Todd Ousley, who previously handled bishop clergy disciplinary complaints against bishops, we had great hopes that the church was moving towards integrity in Title IV,” said Anglican Watch official Eric Bonetti.
“Now, with Barb Kempf involved, we see her doing as little as possible, as slowly as possible, while continuing Ousley’s longstanding policy of covering for bishops, no matter how egregious their conduct. Additionally, we have notified various persons in the Office of Presiding Bishop, including Chancellor Mary Kostel, of our deep concerns about Kempf’s egregious and ongoing betrayals of trust.
“We also note that a complaint involving Dallas Bishop George Sumner, which has languished with Barb Kempf for more than a year and involves allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against a priest who opposed this conduct, was initially dismissed by Kempf on the inaccurate basis that she had attempted to reach the priest who was forced out of his job by Sumner. Not only did that not happen, but the national church has current contact information for the priest, so there’s no excuse. Even after we put Kempf in touch with the priest, she has made no effort to learn about his experiences or provide a pastoral response.
“We, therefore, call on Kempf to resign, effective immediately, and for an end to the denomination’s de facto policy of treating only sexual misconduct and theft of funds as actionable under Title IV — and then, only if you are lucky. Ignoring bullying, sexual harassment, and child sex abuse is not acceptable.
“If the Episcopal Church is to survive, it must adopt basic standards of accountability, integrity, and urgency. We cannot continue with a system in which bishops do whatever they please while the national church runs interference for them.
“The days of zero accountability for clergy are over,” concluded Bonetti. “We and others will continue to shine the light on corruption in the Episcopal Church, and we will not take no for an answer.”
Founded in 2015, Anglican Watch is the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church and is online at www.anglicanwatch.com.
SOURCE Anglican Watch
CONTACT: Eric Bonetti, 240-630-3767, [email protected]
Kempf could give two shots about complainants.
She refuses to talk with complainants after they have lodged a complaint, and then she conducts her own “investigation” by only talking with the bishops.
Kempf is defending the social club.
Curry and his designated representatives looked the other way.