Anglican Watch continues to follow the criminal case involving Episcopal priest Richard Losch and the church’s feckless response to the allegations. With that in mind, we remind readers and members of the media that the Grafton Superior Court (N.H.) will hear the Losch criminal case on April 8 and 9. As a matter of law,…
Silence in the presence of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer If I sit next to a madman as he drives a car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe, then comfort the…
We’ve received a number of questions and comments about the Title IV accord reached in the Douglas Anderson case. Anderson serves as the rector of the Church of the Advent, an Anglo-Catholic parish in Boston. This post addresses some of the loose ends in this matter. A Title IV accord can be entered into at…
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for (drum roll, please). It’s a moment that covers the rot at the very core of Episcopal clergy discipline, and being named a “Pinhead of the Year” is a sought-after prize throughout much of the Anglican Communion. Indeed, this year saw particularly stiff competition, with contenders including:…
Historically, Anglican Watch has been a fan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) and its handling of clergy discipline. In particular, we like and respect former bishop Ian Douglas (who would have been an excellent presiding bishop) and the Rev. Canon Robin Hammeal-Urban, who has long been a driving force in improving Title IV. And while…
The Survivors Network of Persons Abused by Priests (SNAP) today issued a media statement applauding the courage of Jack, a victim of alleged sexual abuse in the 1970’s by Episcopal priest Richard Losch. Anglican Watch was the first outlet to cover the story, and we join with our partners at SNAP in standing with Jack. We believe…
Anglican Watch, the unofficial watchdog organization for the Episcopal Church, filed a Title IV clergy disciplinary complaint earlier this week against Alan Gates, Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts. The filing follows allegations that the Rev. Richard Losch, then serving a parish in Marblehead, MA, raped a boy at a Boy Scout camp in the mid-1970s. Losch,…
You have to hand it to the Episcopal Church: No one lies like the denomination. And that’s particularly true of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, which just posted a profile in its search for a new bishop that contains an outrageous lie about the Diocese’s commitment to safety. This fabrication is unhelpful and unacceptable. So what is…
Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he…
Demands increase for bishop accountability Following the lackluster response to the allegations of domestic violence by Bishop Singh and the purported sexual assault of Julia Ayala Harris at a church meeting, there have been demands in both Houses of the General Convention to revisit bishop discipline and the related disciplinary canons. But these efforts miss…
Today’s post is about Title IV, the Episcopal clergy disciplinary canons. Specifically, what reasonable steps can we take to improve Title IV? For starters, let’s look at how Title IV functions today. Our take—far from unbiased—is that the best-managed cases rise to mediocrity. Those cases are few and far between, as most don’t even rise…
As our Roman sisters and brothers mourn the senseless murder of Los Angeles auxiliary bishop David O’Connell, his legacy illustrates the TEC episcopacy’s profound challenges. A priest for 45 years, O’Connell was known as a peacemaker who worked to reduce tensions between area residents and law enforcement, particularly following the beating death of Rodney King. The community he served…
Anglican Watch is deeply concerned that Alan Gates is using the Anderson Title IV case to rein in the Church of the Advent and its seccessionist tendencies, while failing to care for the #metoo victim. Recently, we have been in contact with several persons connected to the Rev. Douglas Anderson Title IV case. Additional details…
Allegations of sexual misconduct and dishonesty by rector Douglas Anderson aren’t the only issues at Church of the Advent, Boston, plaguing corrupt bishop Alan Gates and his equally unethical Canon to the Ordinary, Bill Parnell. Nor is misogyny the only challenge facing the parish. Sources close to the matter tell Anglican Watch that the parish recently formed an Anglicans…