Bishop Stephen T. Lane and members of the standing committee write:
On Wednesday, January 30, 2019, the Bishop and Standing Committee received information regarding one of our nominees for bishop, the Rev. Canon Anne Mallonee.
It was alleged that the Rev. Canon Mallonee failed to report the sexual abuse of a student by another priest when the Rev. Canon Mallonee was Chaplain at the University of Kansas in the late 1980s. The Diocese of New York, which has jurisdiction in this matter, has determined that the facts of the matter do not support the allegation, and the Intake Officer of New York has dismissed the complaint. Under our canons, the person who brought the complaint has thirty (30) days to appeal, and the appeal period will overlap our Electing Convention by several weeks.
As it stands now, there is currently no charge against the Rev. Canon Mallonee, and she remains on the ballot. We believe that we need to report to the Electing Convention the possibility of an appeal. In preparing this statement, the Bishop and Standing Committee have conferred with the Bishop for Pastoral Development and the nominee.
Canon Mallonee adds:
I commend the decision for full transparency that your Bishop and Standing Committee have made on this matter. I am grateful for the dismissal by the Diocese of New York.
The Episcopal Church has made an important commitment to address past misconduct — arising from the #MeToo movement — and to transform our Church into a safer place for all. As a priest I fully embrace this commitment.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
