It’s long been a fundamental tenet within private companies that illegal conduct by an employee can and should result in immediate termination. Yet the Episcopal Church, which far too often treats Title IV, the clergy disciplinary canon, as the only solution to clergy misconduct, almost invariably ignores criminal conduct and other egregious misconduct by clergy….
Regular readers of Anglican Watch will probably grin — and roll their eyes — to learn that we have now read the entire Blue Book, the enormous heap of paper that magically appears prior to every Episcopal General Convention (GC). Yes, we are governance geeks. In our reading, we note that Title IV and the spectacularly corrupt…
Roughly once a year, Anglican Watch releases its Top Ten Toxic Terrors of TEC list. The list warns the public about some of the more severe problems in the denomination by highlighting abusive bishops, dioceses, bishops, parishes, and churches. Additionally, we hope that those on the list will revisit their behavior and reconsider their role in the…
As many are aware, Anglican Watch had its genesis in misconduct by the Rev. Bob Malm, currently serving as interim of St. Peters-on-the-Canal in Bourne, Ma., and his efforts to engage in spiritual abuse by bullying and oppressing Anglican Watch editor Eric Bonetti, his husband, and his mother, Sigrid Yahner, who was then in the final stages…
Maintaining this blog is a thankless task. Unfortunately, very few understand the importance of bringing light to the darkness or holding the church to account. And we get plenty of hate mail. Everything from “I know where your wife and kids are” (highly improbable) to “you’re an idiot and have no idea what you are…
Anglican Watch is pleased to announce its first annual Top Ten Toxic Terrors of TEC list for 2022. Inclusion on the list is intended to highlight people, churches and dioceses that are causing lasting harm to others due to abusive conduct. This is vital for the survival of the denomination, as the church cannot change if…
For years, the hot mess that is the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (DioVA) has been looking for a savior. Not the type born in Bethlehem under a star, but one wearing a funny hat, sporting a chasuble, and carrying a staff. But with time fast running out for the Episcopal Church, I gotta break it…
It’s no secret that Anglican Watch tends to focus on the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (DioVa). But it’s not because our editor lives in the diocese. Nor is it because of his negative experiences with the diocese. Instead, it’s because the sheer size of the diocese makes it a bellwether for the larger denomination and, in the…
For some time, Anglican Watch has looked with growing angst at ongoing problems in the largest domestic diocese in the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Virginia. Recent conversations with members of the Standing Committee and other diocesan leaders paint a picture of a diocese in dire trouble, hobbled by ineffectual leadership, dismal governance, lack of direction, and…
Susan Goff, bishop suffragan and ecclesiastical authority for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia following an abortive search for a bishop interim, repeatedly covered up and refused to deal with clergy misconduct during her tenure as bishop. This includes numerous Title IV complaints about Robert Malm, a priest accused of perjury, abuse of power, conduct unbecoming,…
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s often a true statement, given our propensity as humans to prefer the comfortable and known, versus change and the unknown. But it’s nowhere more true than DioVA, where the recent passage of an annual budget — one quarter of the way into the new…
You can’t make this stuff up. In the midst of the pandemic, at a time where abuse and domestic violence are skyrocketing, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is now proposing to zero out its budget for sexual misconduct training and prevention. Seriously. The announcement comes as the diocese attempts for the second time to pass…
Did you ever have a moment of profound cognitive dissonance? Where you look around and just go, “Holy Toledo—what the heck just happened?” That was this author’s reaction when he recently learned that Shannon Johnston, former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia (DioVA), has been named as a fellow to George Mason University’s (GMU’s)…
In a move that has garnered scant attention, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, faced with plummeting revenue from its constituent parishes due to COVID-19 and the loss of more than 15 percent of its Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) over the past 10 years, has announced that it is in discussions with Truro Church to sell…