Citing concerns with the process the denomination is following, several survivors of sexual abuse in ACNA have declined to participate. A petition asking the Anglican Church in North America to adopt a “survivor-centric” process has garnered over 350 signatures.
ACNA was formed by Episcopal clergy and laity disenchanted with the consecration of LGBTQ bishops in the Episcopal Church. It is not affiliated with the Anglican Communion.
As I mentioned in my Sunday post (regarding the current abuse scandal in @The_ACNA, @ChurchRez, @MidwestAnglican, I wrote the Provinicial Respose Team a letter. #ACNAtoo
— Katie Robichaud (@katierouquine) January 13, 2022
Yesterday I received an email inviting me to “vote” in @The_ACNA Provincial Response Team’s investigative firm selection process.
Today I replied to say I would not.
My letter is linked here and the full text is in the 🧵 below.#ACNAtoohttps://t.co/5pfBywO1ZZ
— Joanna, but with extra 🧂 (she/her) (@ladyjessicahaze) January 6, 2022
RNS: Hundreds sign petition asking ACNA for ‘survivor-centric’ abuse investigation
The petition, published Thursday (Jan. 6) by the abuse prevention advocacy group #ACNAtoo, asks that ACNA hire an investigative firm that will “search for and publish all the truth, even if it shows the Province in an unflattering light, following the best practices of a survivor-centric investigation.”
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Several individuals who reported being sexually abused by Mark Rivera, a former lay minister in ACNA’s Upper Midwest Diocese, have said leaders in the diocese repeatedly mishandled their allegations [on mishandling see our four earlier posts]. On Aug. 28, ACNA announced an eight-member Provincial Response Team to oversee an investigation into the Upper Midwest Diocese’s handling of the abuse allegations.
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On Wednesday, the response team emailed some of the accusers, inviting them to vote between two possible investigative firms. The email said the eight members of the response team would also vote. However, 10 of the alleged survivors have signed or initialed the petition stating that they will not participate in the investigation process due to several concerns.
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The #ACNAtoo petition states that, based on publicly available information, “it seems clear that both firms are committed to serving and prioritizing the needs of the client (i.e the Province), which elevates protection from liability rather than elucidating the truth.” The petition says the firms do not appear to have experience with church investigations and seem to indicate little commitment to survivor-centered practices.
300 sigs in only 3 days!
Thank you for adding your voices to advocate for victim protection, proper investigations & changing systems to prevent more victims.
Please keep sharing so others, within and outside @The_ACNA, can read & add their support.https://t.co/HNAlTaVRKG
— ACNAtoo (@ACNAtoo) January 10, 2022