epiScope

No contest

Former Boca church youth director pleads no contest to sex charge
By DWAYNE ROBINSON
Palm Beach Post
March 16, 2008

A priest who resigned as a youth director of a Boca Raton church last year after he was charged with soliciting sex pleaded no contest to the allegations Thursday.

The Rev. Michael Royce Penland, 47, will not go to jail as a result of the June 28 charge of soliciting sex from an undercover male officer in a park restroom in Waynesville, N.C., his attorney said.

"I think he's relieved it's over," North Carolina attorney Albert Marvin Messer said. The court did not issue a judgment of guilty or not guilty, Messer said.

After Penland's plea, which doesn't admit guilt while also not contesting the charges, the former St. Gregory's Episcopal Church youth ministry director must pay court costs and stay away from recreational property in Haywood County, N.C., where he was arrested in June.

It’s all here …and odd, because the Asheville (NC) paper reported a guilty plea on Friday. Anybody know which it was?

Guilty

Priest pleads guilty to charges from sex sting
Josh Boatwright
Asheville (NC) CITIZEN-TIMES
March 14, 2008

WAYNESVILLE – An Episcopal priest found guilty Thursday of soliciting sex from undercover Waynesville police officers is the last of seven men to make guilty pleas after being charged in a sting operation last summer in park restrooms.

Michael Royce Penland, 46, pleaded guilty to soliciting crimes against nature and was ordered to pay court costs and stay away from Haywood County recreation property, according to the Haywood County clerk of courts office.

Penland resigned from his position as a youth minister at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in Boca Raton, Fla., in September, following his arrest, according to church meeting records.

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Zero tolerance

Kittanning Episcopal rector placed on administrative leave
Pittsburgh (PA) Tribune-Review
March 12, 2008

A rector at St. Paul's Church in Kittanning was placed on administrative leave last month for using "inappropriate language" with a parishioner.

The Rev. David Wilson will return to the post at the end of May, according to Peter Frank, a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. Frank said the diocese has a zero tolerance policy on such incidents.

Frank, who declined to repeat what was said or say who reported the incident, stressed that Wilson has not been defrocked or removed from the ministry. The Rev. Carl Neely will act as pastor-in-charge until Wilson's return.

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St. Paul rector placed on administrative leave
By Renatta Signorini
Leader Times (PA)
March 12, 2008

A rector at St. Paul's Church in Kittanning was placed on administrative leave last month for using "inappropriate language" with a parishoner.

The Rev. David Wilson will return to the post at the end of May, according to a spokesman from The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.

Peter Frank said because the behavior fell within a policy that demands zero tolerance, Wilson was placed on the three-month administrative leave.

"The diocese upholds a high standard," Frank said.

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Inappropriate

Kittanning Episcopal rector put on leave
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
March 04, 2008

An Episcopal rector who not only holds a top position in the Pittsburgh diocese but is also a vocal advocate for Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. has been placed on administrative leave for three months for "inappropriate language" with a parishioner.

The Rev. David Wilson, rector of St. Paul's Church in Kittanning, Armstrong County, was placed on leave Saturday. During the three-month leave he will not serve either as church rector or in his position as president of the diocese's standing committee, which advises the bishop.

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+Bennison trial set

Church sets trial date for suspended bishop
By David O'Reilly
Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer
Mar. 1, 2008

The Episcopal Church USA has set a June 9 trial date for Bishop Charles E. Bennison, the suspended head of its Diocese of Pennsylvania, on charges that he concealed his brother's sexual abuse of a minor decades ago.

Bennison, 64, was pastor of a California parish in the early 1970s when he hired his brother, John Bennison, as its youth minister. John Bennison soon began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl that lasted several years.

Last year, the girl's family complained that Charles Bennison knew of the abuse but did not act to prevent it, and failed to inform his superiors when John Bennison sought ordination. John Bennison resigned from the priesthood in 2006 after a Los Angeles TV station reported the abuse.

In November 2006, Charles Bennison apologized to the victim, her family and the diocese for his inaction.

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Misconduct in Oz

Anglican Church reserves decision on paedophile
The West Australian (Australia)
1st March 2008

An independent Anglican Church tribunal today reserved its decision over whether to defrock a convicted paedophile priest.

Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, of Brisbane, was jailed for 12 months in November 2006, after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy in Brisbane more than 30 years ago.

Sharwood was released from jail in November last year, attracting calls by child protection advocates for him to be immediately stripped of his holy orders.

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Holy Trinity Anglican Church sweeps priest's sins under carpet
Alison Sandy
The Courier-Mail (Australia)
February 29, 2008

BRISBANE'S Holy Trinity Anglican Church has been dubbed the "Unholy Trinity" after it was revealed a pedophile, an alleged pedophile and a practising priest with his own seedy past are leading its Sunday services.

Following revelations in The Courier-Mail this week that convicted pedophile priest Robert Sharwood, who was released from jail only three months ago, has been allowed to sing in the choir with children, it has now been discovered that Canon Barry Greaves, who will stand trial on child sex charges in August, participates in bible readings.

Their role in the Fortitude Valley church has been approved by the Parish Council, headed by rector Trevor Bulled, who was convicted of indecent behaviour in a public toilet almost 20 years ago.

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Texas priest convicted

Episcopal chuch [sic] court covicts [sic] priest of sexual misconduct
The Associated Press
Feb. 12, 2008

HOUSTON — An ecclesiastical court has found a retired Episcopal priest committed sexual misconduct while he was a school chaplain.

The religious court of the Houston-based Episcopal Diocese of Texas found the Rev. James L. Tucker guilty of immoral behavior and conduct unbecoming of a clergyman, diocese spokeswoman Carol Barnwell said Monday.

Tucker, 80, was a chaplain at Austin's St. Stephen's Episcopal School in the 1960s.

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Verdict

Church court finds priest guilty of molesting boys
Former St. Stephen's chaplain will likely be defrocked
By Eileen E. Flynn
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
February 08, 2008

A church court has returned a summary judgment against the Rev. James L. Tucker for misconduct after hearing testimony from three men who testified that Tucker had repeatedly molested them in the 1960s while they were students at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in West Austin, according to one of the victims.

The nine-member ecclesiastical trial court convened in Houston on Thursday to hear testimony against the Episcopal priest, who worked as chaplain of St. Stephen's from 1958 to 1968. Tucker, who retired from active ministry in 1994, did not attend the ecclesiastical trial.

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Sentencing

Former Gatesville Episcopal vicar sentenced in sexual assault of boy
January 24, 2008
By Erin Quinn
Waco Tribune-Herald

The 62-year-old man who served as vicar of the Episcopal Church of St. George in Gatesville was sentenced to three years in state prison after a Lampasas County judge found him guilty of sexually assaulting a boy in a Lampasas church rectory.

Jim Carlton Wooldridge was sentenced at a hearing last week by 27th State District Judge Joe Carroll in Lampasas.

A spokeswoman with the judge’s office said the incident happened Dec. 1, 2006, in the rectory at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lampasas, where Wooldridge lived since 1994. Wooldridge also was fined $5,000 plus court costs following his conviction for second-degree felony sexual assault of a child.

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Epiphanies

Removal vote nearing for Episcopal bishop
But Duncan avoids suspension in fight over church doctrine
January 17, 2008
By Ann Rodgers
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Officials of the Episcopal Church have taken a first step toward removing theologically conservative Bishop Robert Duncan as head of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, but he dodged an ecclesiastical bullet when the three senior bishops of the church declined the presiding bishop's request to immediately suspend him.

Instead, all the bishops of the Episcopal Church will vote on whether to depose him, most likely at their fall meeting, for "abandoning the communion" of the Episcopal Church. "Communion" is a broad term that encompasses the beliefs, fellowship and structure of a church.

Bishop Duncan yesterday denied the charge.

"Few bishops have been more loyal to the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church," he said. "I will continue to serve and minister as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh."

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Episcopal church cracks down on dissidents
By Michael Conlon
Reuters
Jan 16, 2008

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Episcopal Church have stepped up a crackdown on conservative dissidents, ordering one bishop to stop his religious work and threatening a second with the same thing.

Both rebuffed the moves.

The worldwide Anglican church and its U.S. branch have been fractured since 2003 when the Episcopal Church consecrated Gene Robinson of New Hampshire as the first bishop known to be in an openly gay relationship in over four centuries.

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Bishop Duncan Avoids a Ban -- For Now
by Cary McMullen
Lakeland (FL) Ledger
January 16, 2008

According to a story on the Web site of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has notified Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh that a review committee has formally found that Duncan has "abandoned the communion of the church" and narrowly avoided being slapped with an "inhibition," which would have forbidden him from acting in the capacity of a priest or bishop. This follows last week's similar action against Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin (Calif.). Schofield was inhibited, but a panel of bishops (which included South Florida Bishop Leo Frade) refused to give Schori permission to take the same action against Duncan, for reasons that were not made public. Shortly after receiving notice from Schori, Duncan issued a statement denying the allegation: "Few bishops have been more loyal to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church. I have not abandoned the Communion of this Church."

It’s all here …

Episcopal Church Acts Against Pittsburgh Bishop
WTAE (Pittsburgh)
January 16, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- An Episcopal committee says that conservative Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan has "abandoned the communion of this church" -- a potential first step toward stripping him of religious authority in the denomination.

The committee blocked the national Episcopal Church from imposing the penalty of "inhibition," which would have barred him from performing religious duties. But the Episcopal House of Bishops is expected to consider imposing the punishment near the end of this year.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who notified Duncan that he had abandoned the communion on Tuesday, told Duncan that she sought permission to inhibit him.

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Episcopal Church acts against Pittsburgh bishop
Associated Press
January 17, 2008

An Episcopal committee says that conservative Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan has "abandoned the communion of this church" _ a potential first step toward stripping away his religious authority in the denomination.

Senior bishops in the Episcopal Church blocked the national church from imposing the penalty of "inhibition," which would have barred him from performing religious duties. But the Episcopal House of Bishops is expected to consider imposing the punishment near the end of this year.

The Pittsburgh diocese wants to split from the U.S. denomination and join another province of the Anglican Communion, a loose-knit worldwide fellowship of churches that aligns itself with the Church of England. The Pittsburgh diocese also wants like-minded conservative parishes outside the 11-county western Pennsylvania jurisdiction to be able to join them.

In a statement, Duncan says he hasn't abandoned the church and will "continue to serve and minister."

It’s all here …

Religious freedom in Fresno
Andrew Fiala
San Francisco Chronicle
Open Forum
January 17, 2008

The drama regarding the Episcopalian Church in Fresno shows us the complexity of the ideal of religious liberty. Americans are right to celebrate the separation of church and state. But we must acknowledge that religious liberty means that religions are free to espouse views that many of us believe are intolerant. This works so long as church and state remain separate.

Last month, a substantial majority of Episcopalians here in Fresno voted to leave the American Episcopal Church and align with the Church of the Southern Cone. The immediate cause of this fissure was the Episcopal Church's changing view of homosexuality and marriage. According to the more conservative reading of the Bible propounded by the Fresno Episcopalians, the church should not approve homosexual relationships or ordain homosexual clergy.

The Episcopal Church responded last week by "inhibiting" John-David Schofield, the bishop of San Joaquin. This means that he is prohibited him from carrying out his ministerial duties. In reply, Schofield claims that because he is no longer a member of the Episcopal Church, the order of inhibition does not apply to him.

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Impact of bishop's suspension

The investigation of an Episcopalian leader has wide effects.
By Elizabeth Eisenstadt Evans
Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer
Nov. 16, 2007

Episcopalians in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and elsewhere have spent the past couple of years engaged in overt and behind-the-scenes conflict focused on the contentious figure of our diocesan bishop, Charles E. Bennison Jr.

But for any healing to happen in this divided and disenchanted judicatory, we are going to have to turn the analytical lens on ourselves.

Bennison currently is under ecclesiastical inhibition, or suspension. In articles, he has been dubbed as "disconnected," a "weak Christian," and a man "void of substance" - and that's just a sample from a flood of condemnatory adjectives.

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Suspension

And the award for Most Inaccurate Headline Bordering On (If Not Actually Crossing The Line Of) Libel goes to KGO-TV for:

Bishop Accused Of Child Abuse Suspended
I-Team Revealed Sex Abuse Cover-Up
KGO By Dan Noyes

Nov. 2, 2007 (KGO) - An ABC7 I-Team investigation from last year is having a big impact across the country. The bishop of Philadelphia's Episcopal Diocese has been suspended after the I-Team revealed he covered up child sexual abuse committed by his own brother.

Charles Bennison has been suspended as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Philadelphia for "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy."

"I just would hope people would keep the Diocese of Pennsylvania in their prayers. This is a very serious time for us, there's profound sadness that this has happened," says Rev. Glenn Matis, Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

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Episcopal Church suspends Philly-area bishop
Associated Press
Posted Friday, November 2, 2007 at 8:25 am

PHILADELPHIA – The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has been ordered to cease his duties until a church trial about accusations that he concealed a relative's sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. on Wednesday that he was formally "inhibited" and was to "cease all episcopal, ministerial and canonical acts" as of 11:59 p.m. Saturday. The deadline will allow Bennison to lead Saturday's annual diocesan convention.

The presentment, or church indictment, alleges that Bennison reacted "passively and self-protectively" and "failed to take obvious, essential steps to investigate (the relative's) actions, protect the girl from further abuse, and find out whether other children were in danger."

It’s all here …

Armstrong deposed

Colorado Springs preacher tossed out
By Jean Torkelson
Rocky Mountain News
November 1, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS — The Rev. Donald Armstrong, accused by the Colorado diocese of stealing nearly $400,000 from Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish, has been defrocked.

Bishop Robert O'Neill announced Thursday that Armstrong is deposed as an Episcopal priest, in accordance with the sentence issued by the diocese's Ecclesiastical Court. It means he can no longer officiate in the Episcopal Church in the USA.

"I'm not under Rob's authority; I've already left," Armstrong told the Rocky Mountain News Thursday. "So it's sort of like being fired after you've already quit."

Armstrong said he is a priest in good standing in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, an Anglican group for breakaway Episcopalians.

It’s all here …

Armstrong defrocked by Ecclesiastical Court
By CAROL MCGRAW
Colorado Springs (CO) Gazette
November 1, 2007

The Rev. Donald Armstrong, accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish, has been defrocked.

Bishop Robert O’Neill of the Diocese of Colorado, announced today that Armstrong is deposed as an Episcopal priest, in accordance with the sentence issued by the diocese’s Ecclesiastical Court. It means he can no longer officiate in the Episcopal Church in the USA.

“We will not have any further statement or additional comment at this time," said Beckett Stokes, diocesan spokeswoman.

Armstrong has said that the Episcopal Church has no authority over him since he is now affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). He has denied the allegations and an independent audit requested by his attorney found no wrongdoing by Armstrong.

It’s all here …

Colorado Springs Episcopal priest defrocked
By Electa Draper
The Denver Post
11/01/2007

COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Episcopal Bishop Robert O'Neill announced the removal from the priesthood today of renegade cleric the Rev. Don Armstrong of Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish.

The Episcopal Diocese's Ecclesiastical Court found Armstrong guilty Sept. 28 of charges that he had stolen or mishandled $550,000 in parish funds.

Armstrong and half or more of his congregation broke away from the Episcopal Church in March, citing theological differences, to become part of a Nigerian-sponsored mission called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

It’s all here …

CofE misconduct review

Church abuse case review outlined
BBC
October 26, 2007

Thousands of files will be examined in an independent review checking for past cases of sex abuse involving clergy, the Church of England has announced.

It follows consultation with agencies including the NSPCC on how best to investigate historic abuse cases.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has acknowledged that mistakes have been made in responding to abuse claims.

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Further charges in Charleston

Former Charleston church rector faces additional abuse charge

The Associated Press

Oct. 09, 2007

CHARLESTON, S.C. --

A former Charleston church rector arrested last month on a child molestation charge now faces additional charges, authorities said.

George Francis Weld, 61, was charged by Charleston County sheriff's deputies this week with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The assault charge involves a female between 14 and 18 years old when the crime allegedly occurred during the late 1980s. The sexual conduct count involved a young woman who was between 15 and 17.

Weld is a photographer who once was rector of a Johns Island Episcopal church. The incidents were not related to Weld's church duties, although they occurred when he served there, authorities said.

Weld was charged last month with fondling a boy who was between 9 and 12 years old, authorities said.

Weld has no prior criminal history in South Carolina, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. Court records filed Tuesday indicate he has not yet hired an attorney.

It’s all here…

Armstrong conviction upheld

Ecclesiastical court says he should be defrocked
By CAROL McGRAW
Colorado Springs (CO) GAZETTE
October 2, 2007

An ecclesiastical court Monday affirmed its conviction of the Rev. Donald Armstrong, who is accused of stealing nearly $400,000 from Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish.

The court, representing the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, also recommended that Armstrong be defrocked, essentially ending all ties between Armstrong and the church. The decision followed a 30-day comment period after its preliminary decision to convict Armstrong in August.

The court’s ruling is a step in the disciplinary process of the Episcopal Church. After a 30-day waiting period, Bishop Robert O’Neill will pronounce a final sentence.

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Charges

Court hearing for priest charged in park restroom sex sting postponed
by Jon Ostendorff
Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times
September 12, 2007

WAYNESVILLE – The court date for an Episcopal priest arrested on charges of sex solicitation in Waynesville has been postponed to Nov. 7.

The Rev. Michael Penland, who resigned from his post as director of youth ministry at a church in Florida on Sunday, will appear on Nov. 7 for a hearing on the misdemeanor charge. He was living in Candler’s Biltmore Lake neighborhood at the time of his arrest and working at a church in Tryon.

New police records in the case show Penland told a detective the day he was arrested that he had been having homosexual affairs for about five years. He also told the detective he had been married for 17 years and that his wife and church did not know about his sexual activities, according to an arrest report filed in the case.

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Longtime priest accused of sexual harassment
by Jeanette Rundquist
September 12, 2007

The sexton of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Peapack-Gladstone has filed suit against the rector emeritus of the parish, alleging the clergyman sexually harassed him more than a decade ago.

The Rev. Canon John Morrow, who was rector of the Somerset County church for more than 30 years before retiring in 1996, and who has since led worship at other Episcopal churches and chapels in the state, is named in the suit along with St. Luke's and the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

Sexton Richard Young, 68, of Chester, who still works at St. Luke's, charged in the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Morris County that from 1984 to 1996, he was subjected to unlawful touching on his chest and torso, inappropriate questioning about his sex life and abuse of control by Morrow. An alleged sexual assault took place at the clergyman's Shore house, while Young was undressing to take a shower, the suit said.

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Resignation

Boca Episcopal priest nabbed in sex sting resigns
By Kevin Deutsch
Palm Beach Post
September 10, 2007

BOCA RATON — A priest charged with soliciting sex in North Carolina has resigned from his job as director of youth ministry at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Michael Royce Penland, 46, was busted June 28 during a sting that focused on city park restrooms in Waynesville, N.C. Police officially charged him with "solicitation for crimes against nature" after he allegedly followed a male undercover officer into the bathroom, asked him if he could go home and have sex with him and tried to follow him home in his car.

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Episcopal schools

Anglican school's former students tell of brainwashing, abuse
Bishop begins inquiry involving Grenville Christian College
Neco Cockburn
The Ottawa Citizen
September 08, 2007

An Anglican bishop has begun meeting with people as part of an inquiry into allegations of abusive practices at a Brockville-area private religious school that shut its doors earlier this summer.

Grenville Christian College has faced numerous allegations since it closed at the end of July after citing changing demographics, declining enrolment and increasing operating costs.

Former students have flooded websites and told media of allegations including physical and psychological abuse.

Bishop George Bruce, of the Anglican Church's Diocese of Ontario, has started to meet with people who have filed written complaints, diocesan executive officer Wayne Varley said yesterday.

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Episcopal diocese releases timeline chronicling claims of sexual abuse
Ex-head of school apologizes for how he handled students' allegations in the 1960s.
By Eileen E. Flynn
Austin (TX) AMERICAN-STATESMAN
September 08, 2007

Over the course of four decades, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and St. Stephen's Episcopal School officials were told repeatedly that the Rev. James L. Tucker had molested minors in the past but they took no action against the former St. Stephen's chaplain, according to a timeline released last week by the diocese.

According to the timeline, an investigation this year found at least nine people — including one from Houston not publicly acknowledged until now — who claim to be victims.

Also, for the first time since the diocese announced the allegations in May, the former head of St. Stephen's, Allen Becker, who had received allegations from students in the 1960s, has issued a public apology, saying he "should have responded differently."

Tucker, who retired in 1994, will face charges in a church trial unless he admits guilt and agrees to resign from the ministry, diocesan official said.

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New chapel
San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio's TMI — The Episcopal School of Texas is building a new chapel to replace the current one, which dates back almost 20 years. The new chapel will be used for daily morning services and will provide seating for 500 students and guests. A monthly Eucharist also will be held in the new chapel.

The chapel is designed to blend in with the look of the campus and its natural surroundings.

It is being built with an attached wing that will house three classrooms.

The school traces its history to 1893 when it was founded by James Steptoe Johnston, who would become the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.

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Standing-room-only opening at 'La Cage'
Trinity Prep School play seems to benefit from free publicity after bishop's nix.
Tanya Caldwell
Orlando Sentinel
September 10, 2007

The thespians of Trinity Preparatory School opened their controversial show Friday night to a full house without the Episcopalian bishop's blessings.

They opened their theatrical season before hundreds at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, playfully prancing around in blond wigs and patent leather heels.

Some were girls. Some were boys in drag. And for the Episcopal bishop, that was the problem.

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Misconduct

Man charged with stalking church officials
By DAN SPRINGER
La Crosse (WI) Tribune
September 07, 2007

A felony stalking charge was filed Thursday against a La Crosse man accused of harassing the priest and members of Christ Episcopal Church, 831 Main St..

The felony charge against Robert Q. Bick, 65, of 921 Vine St., Apt. 1, comes after 18 months of unwanted letters, e-mails and other contact with church officials and church members, prosecutors claim in a criminal complaint. The problems with Bick started in March 2006, but escalated over time.

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Boca priest accused of seeking sex with officer
By KEVIN DEUTSCH
Palm Beach Post
September 07, 2007

BOCA RATON — The director of youth ministry at St. Gregory's Episcopal Church was charged with soliciting sex after he propositioned an undercover male officer in a North Carolina park bathroom, police said.

The Rev. Michael Royce Penland, 46, was busted June 28 during "Operation Summer Heat," a sting that focused on city park restrooms in Waynesville, N.C. Police officially charged him with "solicitation for crimes against nature" after he allegedly followed the officer into the bathroom, asked him if he could go home and have sex with him and tried to follow him home in his car.

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Waynesville restroom sex sting nets 7

Operation charges 6 others in Web scheme
by Jon Ostendorff
Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times
September 6, 2007

WAYNESVILLE – WAYNESVILLE — A three-month undercover sting led to the arrests of an Episcopal priest and six other men on charges of exposure and sex solicitation in two city park restrooms, police said Wednesday.

In a second phase of what police called Operation Summer Heat, investigators also arrested five other men and one woman on charges of prostitution, participating in prostitution of a minor and soliciting prostitution.

Those arrests came after the suspects responded to an advertisement on the popular craigslist Web site.
…
Michael Royce Penland, an Episcopal priest and director of youth ministry at St. Gregory’s Church in Boca Raton, Fla., was among those charged.

Penland, 46, listed a Fennel Dun Circle address in Candler’s Biltmore Lake subdivision at the time of his arrest. He worked for Holy Cross in Tryon before moving to Florida, according to an Episcopal Diocese newsletter.

Penland would not comment on the charges.

An official at his church in Florida would not comment. A spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in Raleigh did not immediately return a message.

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In the courts of the Lord

Priest's lawsuit dismissed, letter reaction
Pedro Ramirez III
Syracuse Post-Standard
August 24, 2007

A judge dismissed the final two claims in a $4.35 million lawsuit that accused CNY's Episcopal bishop of punishing a priest for questioning the diocese's response to alleged sexual abuse by another priest in the 1970s.

The Rev. David G. Boolinger, of Owego, Tioga County, filed the suit in January 2006. The suit accused Bishop Gladstone Adams of defamation, breach of fiduciary duty and wasting or misusing diocesan assets.

Putnam letter reaction

In a letter to the editor Tuesday, J. Edward Putnam, former rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles, described the incidents in which he is alleged to have sexually abused minors, "as falling within the lower end of a wide range of sexual misconduct."

Putnam, who ran unsuccessfully last year for state Assembly, declined three interview requests. In response to Putnam's letter, Bishop Gladstone Adams released a statement, saying, "Mr. Putnam, through his statement, has chosen to minimize his actions and create a false impression of what actually occurred."

Diocesan officials said they have no further comment on the case.

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Protestant clergy abuse difficult to document
By William Moyer
Press & Sun-Bulletin

Allegations and confirmed cases of priestly sex abuse against children in the Catholic church have been well documented since widespread reports of abuse first surfaced in the Boston area in the early 2000s.

But tracking allegations and confirmed cases of misconduct by Protestant clergy is an elusive task because Christianity's other ecclesiastical division is wildly diverse, congregational and sometimes staunchly independent compared to Catholicism's centralized hierarchy.

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Public Eye: Roll over, Alice Bemis Taylor
by Cara DeGette
Colorado Springs (CO) Independent

So you've never heard of the John Jay Institute for Faith, Society and Law?

Don't feel bad. The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado has barely heard of the John Jay Institute either — even though for the past two years the academy has been headquartered inside its own Colorado Springs landmark, the Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish.

All of the attention over Grace has been lavished on the Rev. Don Armstrong, found guilty this month by an ecclesiastical court of financial misconduct and tax fraud totaling nearly $1 million, and receiving more than $122,000 in illegal loans. Armstrong is now a "person of interest" in a Colorado Springs police investigation.

Meanwhile, the John Jay Institute, its organizing machine hard at work in the bowels of Grace's building, has somehow escaped scrutiny.

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"Person of interest"

Police investigators scrutinize Grace Church rector
by Michael de Yoanna
Colorado Springs Independent

Despite what must have been a hellish week for the Rev. Donald Armstrong, the pews at Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish were full on Sunday.

"Grace Church is growing stronger," the church's Web site proclaimed Monday, issuing a photograph as proof. "There's Standing Room Only! Praise GOD!"

There was no reference to the flurry of negative headlines that in the preceding days only darkened the cloud of suspicion surrounding the priest, who faces allegations of pilfering church funds.

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Congregation makes space for Episcopalians displaced by church feud
By Beckie Supiano
DisciplesWorld

COLORADO SPRING, Colo. (8/14/07) — Sundays are busy at First Christian Church in downtown Colorado Springs. Each week, the church houses worship services for First Christian’s Disciples congregation — and for the congregation of Grace Episcopal Church, which is leasing the building.

Having two congregations share space on Sunday can be a little tricky in terms of parking and other logistics. Even so, members of First Christian have been happy to share their space.

“It’s just been a wonderful way for us to use our facility and offer the love of Christ to our brothers and sisters,” said First Christian member Nancy Lingbloom, moderator of the congregation when the decision to share the building was made.

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Ex-rector defrocked by bishop
By Jay Tokasz
The Buffalo News
August 16, 2007

An Episcopal priest suspended since 2004 on charges he stole funds from a Batavia parish, forged a church document and repeatedly misrepresented himself has been removed from the priesthood.

The Rev. Simon B. Howson’s status as a priest within the Episcopal Church U.S.A. was revoked by Bishop J. Michael Garrison of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York.

Howson, now serving in a California diocese, is former rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Batavia.

Howson was suspended in October 2004. He sued the diocese a short time later, claiming the bishop retaliated against him after Howson had accused another priest of sexual harassment. The suit is still active.

It’s all here …

Clergy abuse viewed as isolated
Albany Episcopal officials say there is no evidence ex-dean acted improperly at Cathedral of All Saints
By MARC PARRY
Albany (NY) Times Union
August 16, 2007

ALBANY -- Local Episcopalians have no immediate plans to investigate a former Cathedral of All Saints dean who has admitted sexually abusing four boys while working as a rector in central New York.

The Rev. Marshall Vang, the dean of the cathedral, said Wednesday he was not aware of any local complaints against the Rev. J. Edward Putnam, who led the Albany Episcopal Diocese's mother church between 1993 and 1997. He also served as a chaplain for the state Assembly.

Putnam, 66, recently admitted in a written statement that he engaged in "inappropriate conduct with minors" as rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, between 1986 and 1993, according to the Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse.

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Pastor with Barrington ties admits to abusing boys
BY JOAN D. WARREN
East Bay Newspapers (Bristol, RI)
Aug 21, 2007

BARRINGTON - A man who served as interim pastor at St. John's Episcopal Church in Barrington recently admitted to sexually abusing four adolescent boys while serving as rector of a church in New York. J. Edward Putnam, 66, has been suspended from all ministerial and pastorly duties for the next 20 years, according to Retired Rev. Gladstone B. Adams, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. Mr. Putnam reportedly abused the boys between 1985 and 1993.

Local officials said there are no indications that Mr. Putnam acted inappropriately while serving in Barrington at St. John's. Mr. Putnam served at St. John's in 2000 and left in Oct. 2001. Rev. C. Neal Goldsborough was appointed rector in early November of that year, replacing Mr. Putnam who served as interim for about a year.

Rev. Goldsborough said he and the members of the parish are saddened by the actions of the former pastor.

"We at St. John's are shocked, angered and saddened that the wonderful priest and pastor we knew could have done such terrible things. We also pray for the healing, forgiveness and reconciliation for everyone who has been hurt by his actions," Rev. Goldsborough said.

It’s all here … and an UPDATE follows.

Cops investigate theft report

State's Episcopal Diocese filed a complaint in Colorado Springs
By Electa Draper
Denver Post
08/11/2007

Colorado Springs police said Friday that they have been investigating theft and fraud at the Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish since the Denver-based Episcopal Diocese of Colorado filed a complaint July 16.

The Rev. Don Armstrong, pastor of Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish, is a "person of interest" in the case, said Colorado Springs police spokesman Skip Arms. Arms said he could not discuss the investigation, except he anticipates it will take several weeks.

Episcopal Diocese spokeswoman Beckett Stokes said Friday she had no knowledge of the criminal complaint.

It’s all here …

Springs police looking into possible embezzlement at Grace Church
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
Colorado Springs (CO) Gazette
August 10, 2007

Colorado Springs police are investigating a complaint that funds were embezzled from Grace Church and St. Stephen’s, which broke from the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in March.

Police wouldn’t elaborate today on the investigation, saying only that the complaint was filed July 16 by the Denver-based diocese.

The Rev. Don Armstrong, who was convicted by an ecclesiastical court this week of stealing $400,000 from the church, was described by police detective Michael Flynn as a “person of interest” in the embezzlement investigation.

It’s all here …

Abuse admitted

Former Episcopal priest in central NY admits to sexual abusing boys
8/14/2007, 7:10 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press         

SKANEATELES, N.Y. (AP) — A former state Legislature chaplain who ran for the Assembly last year has admitted to sexually abusing four underage boys while serving as rector of a central New York church.

Officials with the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York say J. Edward Putnam, 66, recently admitted in a written statement to the bishop that he engaged in "inappropriate conduct with minors" while at St. James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles (skan-ee-AT'-lus).

An investigation begun in May resulted in his being suspended last month from acting as a priest for 20 years. Diocese officials say Putnam, who was ordained in 1970, admitted to sexually abusing the boys from early 1985 to mid-1993.

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Episcopal priest admits to abuse in Skaneateles
By Renee K. Gadoua
Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard

A former Skaneateles Episcopal priest who ran for state Assembly last year has admitted sexually abusing four adolescent boys while serving as rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Skaneateles from January 1986 to May 1993.

J. Edward Putnam, 66, was suspended from acting as a priest for 20 years after a diocesan investigation, said the Rev. Karen C. Lewis, assistant to Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams.

Putnam signed a document last month that outlines the accusations and the church discipline, Lewis said. In a written statement to the bishop, Putnam said he engaged in "inappropriate conduct with minors" while at St. James, she said.

The diocese received a complaint about Putnam from one man on May 13 and immediately began an investigation, Lewis said. Two days later, Adams prohibited Putnam from acting as a priest while the diocese investigated the allegations.

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Episcopal court finds pastor guilty of theft

Dissident cleric at Springs parish disputes charges
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
August 9, 2007

An Episcopal court unanimously ruled Wednesday that the Rev. Don Armstrong stole $392,409 from his Colorado Springs parish, committed tax fraud and received illegal loans.

The church court also said Armstrong under-reported his income by $548,000 and found bad bookkeeping at Grace Church and St. Stephens, the parish Armstrong has led for 20 years.

Armstrong, who has insisted all along he is innocent, has 30 days to respond to the findings, though he didn't attend the trial because he says the diocese has no jurisdiction over him.

Church attorneys have recommended that Armstrong be defrocked. Bishop Rob O'Neill will decide punishment.

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Church court: Armstrong guilty
Panel says he took nearly $400,000
By ED SEALOVER
Colorado Springs Gazette
August 9, 2007

DENVER - An ecclesiastical court on Wednesday convicted the Rev. Donald Armstrong of stealing nearly $400,000 from his Colorado Springs parish, though it cannot legally punish the breakaway pastor.

The court of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado will decide in about a month, however, whether to recommend that Bishop Robert O’Neill defrock Armstrong, a largely symbolic action that would end all ties between the church and him.

Armstrong left the diocese with a majority of the Grace Church & St. Stephen’s vestry board in March and now oversees the congregation of the Grace CANA Church that is affiliated with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America. His spokesman, Alan Crippen, said the Episcopal Diocese does not have authority over Armstrong.

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Episcopal court issues tentative verdict against breakaway priest
Associated Press
August 8, 2007

DENVER (AP) - An Episcopal church court's preliminary ruling says the leader of a breakaway church in Colorado Springs is guilty of financial misconduct.

The Reverend Donald Armstrong has 30 days to respond before the court issues a final judgment.

The preliminary ruling was made last week but was made public today.

Armstrong is the rector of Grace Church and St. Stephen's parish, whose vestry voted in March to leave the national church and join a conservative Anglican diocese.

That vote came as Armstrong was investigated on allegations of misconduct, including one claim that Armstrong had the church pay him more than $392,000 between 1999 and 2006 without authorization of the church vestry.

Armstrong has denied wrongdoing.

It’s all here …

Spotlight hotter for ex-rector

Whistle-blower was bookkeeper, attorney says
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
August 1, 2007

The whistle-blower who entangled the Rev. Don Armstrong in allegations of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars in church money was the parish bookkeeper, an attorney said Tuesday.

Sara Hopkins' statement was among 650 pages of documents presented Tuesday to an ecclesiastical court convened at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Denver.

As Bishop Rob O'Neill listened, a panel of clergy and laity heard highlights of a yearlong investigation into Armstrong, triggered by a complaint from someone who until now had not been publicly identified.

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Episcopal panel deliberating in case against breakaway leader
By The Associated Press
August 01, 2007

DENVER | An Episcopal church court deliberated Tuesday, July 31, in the case of a breakaway church leader who has been accused of financial misconduct as both the priest and his lawyer boycotted the proceedings, dismissing them as a "witch hunt."

The Rev. Donald Armstrong, the rector of Grace Church and St. Stephen's parish in Colorado Springs and now a member of a conservative Anglican diocese, is accused of having the church pay him $392,409 between 1999 and 2006 without authorization of the church's vestry.

Church lawyers allege the money was used for personal expenses for his wife and family and were covered up by "false and misleading" entries that Armstrong told the church's bookkeeper to use.

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Rebel priest spurns hearing
Armstrong a no-show at Episcopal court; his lawyer cites lack of jurisdiction
By Electa Draper
Denver Post
08/01/2007

Rebellious Colorado Springs priest Don Armstrong, charged with stealing or misusing $610,000 in church funds, defied an Episcopal diocese court Tuesday by not showing up for a hearing.

Armstrong faces diocese charges of using money for seminary scholarships and the poor to pay for the education of his two children, family apartments, computers, cars and other perks.

Armstrong's attorney, Dennis Hartley, contacted by telephone, said that the ecclesiastical court convened in Dagwell Hall of St. John's Cathedral does not have jurisdiction to bring charges against Armstrong.

"He is not an Episcopalian anymore," Hartley said.

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Sex-abuse claims made against retired Episcopal priest

A Houston man filed complaint in 1994, diocese says
By TARA DOOLEY
Houston Chronicle
July 27, 2007

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledged Thursday that a Houston man years ago claimed he was sexually abused in the 1970s by a former rector of St. James' Episcopal Church.

The man filed the complaint in 1994 against the Rev. James L. Tucker, two years after the priest had retired from his position at the Southmore Boulevard church. Church officials have no formal record of the claim, which was made to a former bishop who is now deceased, said diocese spokeswoman Carol Barnwell.

The man who made the claim received counseling at the time, Barnwell said, adding that she did not know why no other action was taken.

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Church and state ruling soon

U.S. backs churches in atheist fight
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
Detroit (MI) FREE PRESS
July 19, 2007

The U.S. Department of Justice has waded into a legal brawl between a national atheist group and the Detroit Downtown Development Authority, which pledged $734,570 in grants to three historic churches in a major downtown face-lift in time for the 2006 Super Bowl.

A federal judge in Detroit is expected to rule soon in the case, which could have national implications as to what role the government has in helping to preserve historic churches.

American Atheists Inc. sued Detroit's DDA in U.S. District Court last year, saying the grants violated the constitutional separation between church and state. The DDA pledged the money to the churches as partial reimbursement for improvements the churches made to their properties.

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Abuse claims aimed at retired priest

Episcopal Diocese of Texas reveals charges dating to the '60s
By TARA DOOLEY
Houston Chronicle
July 11, 2007

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas has publicly acknowledged decades-old sexual abuse claims against a retired priest who once served as rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Houston and founded St. James' School.

Bishop Don A. Wimberly sent a letter to current and former members of the St. James' community last month informing them of the allegations against the Rev. James L. Tucker. The claims stem from incidents in the 1960s when Tucker was a chaplain at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin.

The letter stated that after an investigation that began last fall, the diocese "believes that the claims have substance."

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Priest's 'Disneyland' emerges at sexual assault trial

Defense lawyer says boys first denied sex claims
By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News
July 10, 2007

Former foster parent and Episcopal priest Donald Shissler sexually assaulted three boys whom he lured to his home by turning it into a "Disneyland" full of fun, games and candy, a prosecutor told a Denver jury Monday.

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Once-rebel Newport priest quits as rector

Episcopal cleric who was part of opposition to gay unions resigns, reportedly after a woman complained of unwanted attention from him.
By H.G. Reza, Times Staff Writer
April 26, 2007

A conservative Episcopal priest who helped lead a 2004 revolt against the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles over homosexuality has resigned as rector of a Newport Beach church after a female parishioner complained about unwanted attention from the married clergyman.

The Rev. Praveen Bunyan, who ministered at St. James Church, resigned last week after confessing to "inappropriate conduct" with the woman, said church spokeswoman Karen Bro. Church officials declined to identify the woman, but another priest said there was no sexual contact involved.

"He was taken by her, but thank goodness it didn't go any further than that," said the Rev. Canon David C. Anderson.

It’s all here …

Church rector resigns after confession

Rev. Praveen Bunyan admits to inappropriate conduct with a female parishioner.
By Jessie Brunner
April 24, 2007
Daily Pilot (CA)

St. James Anglican Church in Newport Beach announced the resignation of head rector Rev. Praveen Bunyan on Monday, declaring in a written statement that he had confessed to inappropriate conduct toward a female adult parishioner.

"I have made a grave error in judgment and take full responsibility for what I have done," Bunyan said Monday by phone. "I have committed a serious indiscretion in my conduct with a female member of the congregation for which I am truly sorry and seek forgiveness from God, my family, my colleagues, staff members of the church and, importantly, the aggrieved individual."

After receiving information of the misconduct, the vestry, wardens and bishop led an investigation into the matter and accepted Bunyan's resignation last week. The church notified its 1,200-member congregation during Sunday's services.

Bunyan said he and his family have begun the process of healing and restoration, and he asked for the continued support of his friends, family and the community as they move forward.

Bunyan, who joined the congregation in January of 2003, led the church as it disassociated itself from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and joined with the Anglican Province of Uganda, Diocese of Luweero in 2004.

It’s all here …and Bunyan is the second former Episcopal priest active in the conservative renewal/ "realignment" movement to be removed from his position because of sexual misconduct with a parishioner.

Church says priest misused $100,000

No legal action by Holy Innocents'
By Cynthia Daniels, Jennifer Brett