Episcopal priest Thomas W. Allen (“Father Tommy”) received four second degree assault charges in 2018 after his wife and step-daughter filed temporary protective orders for punching his wife in the face and kicking his stepdaughter in the chest. Allen was also charged with assaulting three of his children. Allen is a graduate of the conservative evangelical Trinity School for Ministry near Pittsburgh and a member of the conservative Anglo-Catholic Society of the Holy Cross (SSC). He was removed from the priesthood by Bishop Eugene Sutton of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, where he served as rector of St. Mary’s, Abingdon (Harford/Bel Air). Allen was then re-ordained by Bishop Walter Grundorf in the Anglican Province of America and is now (2022) the founding rector of St. Athanasius Anglican Church in Glen Allen, Virginia.
Spotlight on abuse: Episcopal priest Thomas W. Allen
Yes, and not only that. He proudly used the n-word in the bar I was working at. Disgusting man.
He also tried to threaten us into taking down the post. Not happening. As for his threat to sue us, stand in line, a-hole. Oh, and he claimed he had succeeded in getting two major dailies to take down stories about him. All the more reason for our coverage to stay,
I know the merits of this case. This is probably one of the few times where I would actually support the priest. Tommy is a good man and actually gained custody of his kids during the height of this unfortunate event (see Maryland Case search records) and was EXONERATED by the courts. It was a miscarriage of justice that he was deposed by the Episcopal Church.
He might have done better had he not threatened this publication in an effort to suppress coverage. Tommy may be a good guy, but he needs to read up on the First Amendment. Not to mention bullying is never productive.
One has every right to disagree with the reporting if it is not all inclusive in it’s scope. Your reporting is not the issue, for what I can see in the email to you. It’s the lack of full disclosure and at least putting forth the end result of the case. I’m a Roman Catholic and we have had our fair share of abusive and narcissistic priests Ad nauseam.
Tommy’s threats were forwarded to the bishop in question. While we welcome details that may help round out a story, threatening us is counterproductive.
What in particular are you calling threats? I don’t see any form of threatening emails. What you posted contains no threats. You make it sound like it’s some form of personal threat. Considering a legal action is not a threat; it’s a legal right.
When someone demands that an outlet take down content or the outlet will be sued, that is a threat under the law; it is not merely a statement that someone is considering adverse action.
Moreover, if the content in question is not defamatory, threats violate both the public’s First Amendment right to know and the media outlet’s right to publish.
In the case of Tommy Allen, we’ve heard various, differing, accounts of the facts behind the charges. And while Allen was successful in gettig other outlets to remove this information, the fact remains that he was criminally charged. This is important information and the public has a right to know and form its own conclusions.
We will not be bullied into silence.
I will note that he requested Anglican Watch to remove the article. Is this not an honest request? His email said: “respectfully submitted.” People do have a right to form their own conclusions, however, people can come to the wrong conclusions if not all the facts are presented. He was criminally charged and people are criminally charged all the time. Charged and being found guilty are two different matters. Do you believe the police can be manipulated during a crisis moment to make a rush to judgment in arresting someone? Happens all the time. Publish the entire narrative. For some reason, you’ve failed to publish the entire story. Conclusions must be based on fact and full inclusion of narrative. Presenting only one side of a story may lead to a case of defamation if there is proven intent to harm a person by not presenting all of the narrative. I’m not a lawyer, but in todays world we see lawsuits flying all over the place.
As we have stated before, if you or other sources have additional information that we can verify, we are happy to publish that as well.
Thank you for your contributions.