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, despite his role in the cover-up of the alleged rape of a woman that may have occurred at his home. In other words, while he was not the alleged rapist, McDowell both failed to address the allegations, and actively engaged in cover-up. Thus, in our view, McDowell is every bit as culpable as the actual rapist.
This incident of purported rape, which involved a congregant of Japanese ethnicity and included allegations of false imprisonment, is discussed at length by independent investigator GRACE in its report on systemic abuse at Tenth Presbyterian, which we republish at the end of this post.
To be clear, McDowell is no longer a minister at Tenth; he now serves as president of Santiago Theological Seminary in the Dominican Republic.
That said, absent substantial changes, including accountability for his role in covering up past misconduct at Tenth, McDowell has no business in ministry.
Simple as that.
Events and background
So, what was McDowell’s role in the purported incident of rape and false imprisonment, and what happened?
The situation starts with McDowell’s role as a landlord, in which he rented a room to Lucas Saenz, a medical student who was looking to become a physician in the United States.
Per the GRACE report, at one point McDowell planned to be out of the country, and gave instructions to Saenz that, during his absence, the latter could meet with female guests only in the home’s living room.
At some point, Saenz allegedly violated this guidance, winding up in bed with a church member, a woman of Japanese descent.
When the woman awoke, she discovered that Saenz had had unprotected sexual intercourse with her, ejaculating inside her. Not surprisingly, she was upset and wound up calling a third party asking for help, adding that she was locked inside the home and that her cell phone had been taken from her. She further stated that she told Saenz no to their intimate encounter.
The GRACE report goes on to say that investigators were unable to fully explore these claims due to their inability to contact the alleged victim, despite multiple attempts. But when we explore how Tenth handled the allegations, the victim’s apparent reluctant to speak with investigators becomes all too predictable.
Ironically, it’s that lack of information that makes clear that McDowell and Tenth Presbyterian mishandled the allegations of rape and false imprisonment:
- Despite allegations of rape and false imprisonment, church leaders did not contact police. That begs the question: On what planet does any rational actor not think these allegations call for an immediate phone call to police?
- Church leaders later met with the alleged victim and Saenz at McDowell’s home. As the scene of purported crime, it boggles the mind that anyone would think this was an appropriate venue for any sort of conversation about the allegations.
- Per the GRACE report, the ensuing conversation, which included McDowell, was focused almost exclusively on whether the victim would become pregnant, and whether Saenz should marry her.
- There appears to have been scant conversation with the purported victim about her desires, including whether she wanted to get married; the entire conversation was framed as a patriarchal conversation in which men in the room assumed they could decide the best next steps. Indeed, to the extent the victim’s wishes were discussed, GRACE reports she was not keen on marrying Saenz. Yet there appears to have been considerable pressure from McDowell and others to put a ring on the victim’s finger and call it a day.
- None of the men in the conversation saw any issue with forcing the victim to meet with the alleged perpetrator, despite the fact it was obvious to all involved that the conversation was acutely embarrassing to the victim.
- During the discussion, the notion of differing cultural standards and varying notions of rape came up, with some saying that in Japan, unprotected ejaculation was considered rape. Regardless, the group made no effort to bring culturally aware persons into the conversation or to parse these issues; the entire focus was on moving on and protecting Saenz. Even so, this is a red herring. No means no, in any language. Women should not have to have a black belt in ju jitsu and have a physical altercation with an attacker for the word no to count.
- The Tenth Session was involved in the matter and allegedly investigated, but GRACE found no evidence of an investigatory report or criminal complaint. Given how serious the allegations and the potential for civil liability, why wasn’t the situation documented in multiple ways? We can only conclude that Tenth’s primary goal was to protect its reputation and that of Saenz. (The latter appears to be a pediatrics physician in Pittsburgh. Thus, our concerns about boundaries and personal integrity are worsened by Saenz’s position of trust and access to vulnerable populations.)
- GRACE reports that, “all parties agree that there was a sexual act that took place without RV’s consent. Additionally, all parties also all agree to some degree that RV’s physical liberty was restrained immediately after the sexual act took place.” Thus, no matter how we parse the details, the situation is ugly and alarming and tells us that Tenth is not a safe place.
Power dynamics
There is also a telling discussion in the GRACE report about the power dynamics in this situation.
Specifically, Saenz was close to Tenth pastors, while the victim was a “seeker,” or someone less spiritually mature and not a full member of the church. Thus, power dynamics being what they are, the GRACE report makes clear that the victim’s claims were consistently devalued versus Saenz’s statements.
Our reaction
Anglican Watch views this situation on four levels.
1. No means no.
Our first concern is that there was non-consensual sex between Saenz and the victim. In that regard, there’s little room for interpretation. Regardless of the language or the culture, no means no.
Similarly, when someone wants to leave, that is the end of the conversation. They must be free to leave.
And, of course, if someone alleges criminal conduct, you drop what you are doing and pick up the phone to call law enforcement. Not later. Not after you’ve investigated and concluded that something illegal may have happened. And you don’t get to take a pass because, after you grilled the alleged victim in front of others, she said it wasn’t rape.
Thus, we see McDowell and Tenth as complicit in what likely was rape. Again, GRACE makes clear that the sex was nonconsensual, and women need not engage in a physical altercation for no to mean no.
2. Tenth’s handling of the situation was another layer of abuse
The second issue we have is the church’s abusive handling of the situation. Simply put, forcing the victim to confront her abuser, at the site of the alleged rape, then to rehash the details, is profoundly abusive and unethical.
We also reiterate the obvious: Church officials are neither qualified to investigate allegations of criminal conduct. Nor are they impartial as to the outcome. Thus, their behavior is not only harmful to the victim, but creates the possibility of legal exposure for the church.
Even worse is the whole notion of putting a ring on the victim’s finger and marrying her. That is gaslighting of the worst sort, and the notion that this group of buffoons could skip the allegations of rape and false imprisonment and go right to discussing pregnancy and marriage is shocking in the extreme.
3. PCA appears to trade on ethnicity in pursuit of growth
Third is an issue we’ve been following for a while, and that is the way PCA, especially in the Philadelphia region, appears to trade upon cultural norms in pursuit of a growth agenda.
Specifically, we have spoken with several men and women in the Philadelphia area, all of Asian ethnicity, who have been traumatized, even to the point of being suicidal, by the denomination’s efforts to push them to grow the church.
In every instance, these persons tell us about inordinate pressure to serve, to bring other Asians into the church, and to grow the denomination. Yet, in every instance, when things eventually go south due to burnout or exhaustion, the church’s response is best summarized as “see ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.”
To be clear, when church members experience trauma in order to grow the church but receive no pastoral care in response to the trauma, it becomes clear that PCA is not a church, but instead a badly run social club. Even worse, it’s a social club with a broken ethical reference point.
Nor is there anything Christian about the PCA’s behavior in these situations. Nothing.
No one should wind up suicidal over their expeiences with any religious organization, whether it’s the Episcopal Church, the PCA, or any other denomination.
Feel free to quote us.
4. Lack of repentance makes McDowell unsuited for ministry and discredits Tenth Presbyterian
Fourth, setting to one side for a moment the egregious issues identified above, we come to the issue that ties everything together, which is McDowell’s lack of repentance.
Far too often, we see churches talk about treating sin and misconduct as “something that happened before I got here,” “water over the dam,” or something in the past with which we need to “make peace.”
These are not Christian perspectives.
A Christian perspective involves repenting of sin, apologizing, and fixing the harm, or making restitution.
Has McDowell repented of his behavior? Nothing suggests he has. And the same applies to Tenth, Session, and George McFarland. Indeed, when the GRACE report came out, this nest of vipers tried to deep-six it. And subsequently, contrary to PCA polity, all the follow-up has been behind closed doors.
Impression management much, guys?
So why would Tenth want to have someone preaching whose behavior doesn’t comport even with basic notions of Christianity?
The answer, we think, is that he’s a known commodity, a throw-back to the not-so-good old days of Liam Goligher and his cronies, and a way to reassure the remaining members. Plus, as a missionary type, he can put in a plug for global outreach at a time when the church needs money.
That approach of course ignores the real issues of faith, accountability, and justice. Just as many passed by the injured man in the road, Tenth refuses to be the good Samaritan when confronted with its toxic legacy of sexual, spiritual, and relational abuse. And the church makes clear that it’s unrepentant; if it were, the last thing it would do is have a jack*** like McDowell preaching.
Speaking of….
While we’re on the topic of repentance and accountability, we must revisit a key point, which is that Phil Snyder and others sounded the alarm on abusive behavior at Tenth long ago.
True to form, Tenth retaliated with its perjurious claims that Snyder was threatening violence and more. In doing so, Tenth traded on its disparate finances and power to crush Snyder in the courts. But that doesn’t prove that Tenth was right, justified, or anything else. It just proves that Tenth is more powerful.
In that regard, McDowell is part of that inner circle that personally went after Snyder, but refuses to repent. Further, we remind all involved that perjury is a felony, a criminal offense.
Of course, Tenth has known for several years that this publication, our sister publication, The Wartburg Watch, and our readers are wise to the church’s antics. We’ve called on the church to repent and make restitution, including for the more than $100,000 in legal fees the church’s perjury caused for Snyder.
But being nothing more than a whitewashed tomb, Tenth continues to ignore us. In the meantime, added, related layers of corruption within the church have appeared, including Susan Elzey’s adulterous affair with Liam Goligher, which appears to be the driver behind her perjurious claim that Snyder threatened her.
So, as long as Tenth continues to ignore its own criminal conduct, and refuses to repent, and continues to invite accomplices to its illegal conduct to preach, the church remains toxic and dangerous to its own members.
Context matters
In all of this, the context matters. Tenth’s corruption and mishandling of abuse is not a one-and-done situation. Instead, it is part of a pattern and practice of abuse, dishonesty, and above all, a refusal to place faith first and church reputation second, if at all. This includes an earlier reprimand from the Philadelphia Presbytery involving Session lying to church members.
What would real accountability look like? The answer is not difficult. It would:
- Involve caring first for victims.
- Telling the truth, even when painful, inconvenient, or embarrassing.
- Holding church clergy, staff, and preachers accountable for the highest standards of Christian conduct.
- Disclosing past misconduct, for we cannot be in right relationship, with God or each other, when we do not know the truth.
- Repenting of sin and making reparations to all victims of misconduct by Tenth and its employees and attorneys. This includes an apology, counseling, reimbursing for financial losses, and more. And yes, it means owning up to the criminal perjury against Phil Snyder; no one ever said being a Christian would be nothing more than a comfortable, cozy slice of stained-glass paradise.
The bottom line
The bottom line in this ongoing debacle is that, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yes, Goligher, Elzey and several other miscreants are gone. But all of this is nothing more than window dressing for a Session and a church in which accountability is missing, faith is a feel-good exercise, and Christian notions of repentance are missing.
Until Tenth Presbyterian, George McFarland, and the rest of this nest of vipers come clean and change their ways, Anglican Watch encourages those who are sincere about their faith to avoid this whitewashed tomb.
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