I'm Skeptical, But We'll See

My understanding is that the ACA is now investigating both the hiring of a priest with an arrest record for child pornography and the potentially explosive allegations against a diocesan bishop. It's worth pointing out that Presiding Bishop Marsh was, as far as I'm aware, notified of both these problems months ago and had taken no apparent action. I am assuming that any ACA investigation will also note the circumstances under which Marsh was notified, the actions he took or didn't take, and why he allowed ACA parishioners to be exposed to these risks for months, if he took no action.

I would expect changes in the ACA House of Bishops within a fairly short period of time, or a credible explanation of why no change is contemplated.

But I'm scratching my head. These scandals alone are enough to threaten the existence of the ACA. If parents have no assurance that ACA priests get any type of background check, they have every reason to pull out of the denomination and worship with their families elsewhere in a safe environment. Even adults without children are entitled to have a queasy feeling about any ACA priest or parish. I find it significant that even the Safe Environment Coordinator for the ACA Diocese of the Northeast feels able to speak only for his own diocese and disavow knowledge of policies in the other dioceses. Responsible parties in the ACA need to wake up and recognize that this problem is a major threat to the ACA's continuing existence.

But there's another threat, which is the real possibility that the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry v ACA case will be retried based on the facts, and the ACA will lose, returning control of St Mary of the Angels to its elected vestry. In that case, there will need to be an exhaustive examination of what property may have been looted from the parish, and individuals like Stephen Strawn, Frederick Rivers, Brian Marsh, Mrs Bush, and others could face criminal charges for any theft that may have occurred on their watch.

There's also potential civil liability -- for example, for defamation of Fr Christopher Kelley. The ACA has repeatedly asserted that Fr Kelley would be criminally prosecuted for undisclosed actions, which has not happened. Fr Kelley's alleged thefts, forgeries, and misappropriations have been reviewed by several courts, and the courts have repeatedly found that no such actions occurred. The ACA in authorized public statements destroyed Fr Kelley's career, after all. Any legal action stemming from this would bring catastrophically bad publicity for the denomination. Any criminal charges involving individuals acting on behalf of Bishops Strawn and Marsh would probably destroy the denomination.

So any responsible individuals within the ACA need to conduct a careful review of where the ACA stands regarding two major scandals and its deteriorating legal situation against the St Mary's elected vestry and Fr Kelley. It seems to me that there's still time to make things right, but frankly, not much.

Just sayin'.