By February 2020 at least 10 women alleged clergy misconduct at All Souls Wheaton, a church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Anglican Church in North America. The diocese is a breakaway from The Episcopal Church.
Two of those women (Angela and Laura) issued a statement Saturday detailing the mishandling of the case by Bishop Jim Hobby who resigned in November 2020 over the mishandling of a different misconduct case. In their statement, Angela and Laura also charge that interim Bishop Martyn Minns has distorted facts surrounding the case and its handling.
As founding bishop of CANA, Minns was a key player in the schism which led to the creation of ACNA. So was Robert Duncan, former bishop of Pittsburgh (TEC and ACNA) and founding primate of ACNA.
The statement by Angela and Laura is also in tweet thread form at @ACNAtoo part of which is posted below. The entire thread is unrolled here or can be read on Twitter by clicking any of the @ACNAtoo tweets below. The thread begins,
We're publishing this guest thread by A&L (Angela & Laura), two #ACNAtoo survivors from All Souls Anglican Church in Wheaton, IL (Diocese of Pittsburgh). You can also read their expanded post on our blog: https://t.co/oGDhTuWsVi
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021
A&L: In February 2020 five women sent detailed written reports with evidence of M’s misconduct to church leaders who forwarded it to Bp Hobby. Bp Hobby asked M to step down for a time of “reflection and investigation.”
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021
A&L: This process is not clearly spelled out in the canons and—to this day—it is unclear to us why the initial reports in Feb did not 'count.' If a mailed, notarized statement was necessary to launch an investigation, communication regarding this step should have come in Feb. pic.twitter.com/Amts1VCOVJ
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021
It is unacceptable that victims still have to endure this kind of ‘length of your skirt’ analysis of their motive, character, and intent when coming forward & seeking justice. What ‘glory’ is there to be had in raising your hand among the abused? It is an act of uphill bravery. https://t.co/UWWMAyUYcC
— Jenna Jayne Perrine (@Weejenbug) July 31, 2021
A&L: A week later, M’s lawyer, a former parishioner, began emailing church-members asking them to support M in a "reconciliation process," claiming that a “grievous wrong” had been done to M. This letter attacked our character, compounding harm done to us.
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021
A&L: On 3/17/21, Bp Minns and a member of the Standing Committee visited All Souls to host Q&A sessions with the parish. We met with the Bp beforehand. During our meeting, the Bp challenged our narrative & pointedly refused to disclose what he planned to tell the parish.
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021
A&L: For example, when asked if M was ever asked to stop the offending behavior before it was brought to the diocese’s attention. Bp Minns said he didn’t believe so. However, as documented by several victims, M was confronted multiple times before the diocese became involved.
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) July 31, 2021