The Washington Post reports on the sad news that the Rev. Marshall Brown, a longtime associate rector at Truro Church, and part of the clergy team that led the parish out of the Episcopal Church and into CANA, was sacked and that Brown is being investigated for habitually viewing pornographic material on his office computer.
MIchelle Boorstien and William Wan of the Post report:
Minns, who has known Brown since the two were in seminary together in the 1970s, said he is now launching an investigation into what happened and whether Brown should be stripped of his priestly credentials.
“Part of my thing now is to dig deeper,” Minns said. “I was assured [in 2005] that he had a program for whatever he needed not to be addicted, and it was no longer a problem. I don’t know now, based on what’s happened, how much I can trust those assurances.”
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In 2005, Truro arranged for Brown, now 57, to get treatment for an Internet addiction after he reported having a problem, according to Bishop Martyn Minns, who was Truro’s rector at the time and is now bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, the umbrella group of breakaway churches.
Minns, one of the leaders of Anglican conservatism, said in an interview this week that in 2005 he didn’t ask his then-assistant for details about what kind of sites he was using – sexual or otherwise. The addiction experts who treated Brown told Minns “there was nothing illegal or involving children,” but beyond that, Minns said, “I didn’t ask too many questions.”
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Then, last month, Brown was removed for accessing “Web sites that would be considered pornography,” said Truro Executive Director Warren Thrasher.
The Post also reports that another staff member’s computer was taken by police.
Reaction by Truro parishioners was mixed:
Parishioners were told to direct any questions from outsiders to church leadership. A few, who did not want their names used for fear of being ostracized, said they were concerned that the addiction of one of their top clergy had been kept quiet for years and that specific details had still not been given. Others said they felt that was proper.
It appears that this time Minns has acted to inhibit and possibly depose Brown. This is in contrast to his continuation of the ministry of the Rev. Donald Armstrong in Colorado Springs, who is convicted of a felony, contrary to the Canons of ACNA and the welcoming of the Rev. Randolph Bragg, who was, even though he was convicted by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia of immorality, conduct unbecoming and violation of ordination vows, was welcomed as a priest in good standing in CANA just before a presentment was handed down, as reported here.