The Living Church reports on the Executive Council meeting:
Policies for bringing wrongdoing to light at the Episcopal Church Center are out of date and require revision for the protection of employees, according to an audit committee report delivered June 9.
The report, presented during a meeting of Executive Council’s Joint Standing Committee on Finances for Mission, marks the first time since a misconduct scandal broke in December that the church has publicly acknowledged a problem in its systems for uncovering misconduct.
Deficiencies came to light in during the investigation of senior staff and allegations of abuse and harassment.
Legal experts say Executive Council members could be held liable in two scenarios: (1) if they failed to care, be informed, or inquire enough to establish and oversee prudent safeguards during the misconduct period; or (2) if they now fail to buttress safeguards after receiving a thorough report about what went wrong. The audit committee’s concern about whistleblowing protocol raises questions about the reporting mechanisms in place while misconduct occurred.
Good practice requires that the chief executive be informed of reported incidents. It is not known if the reports were passed on to former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. New York state law prohibits retaliation against an employee for disclosing or threatening to disclose unlawful or dangerous behavior
Read more by TLC reporter G. Jeffrey MacDonald