Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe has announced a pastoral response to the family of Bishop Prince Singh. Singh’s former wife and his two sons accused him of abusing them for more than a decade, including during his tenure as Bishop of Rochester.
The response closes the Title IV cases against former Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry and Bishop Todd Ousley, in his former capacity of intake officer for Title IV charges against bishops.
The Singh family has released a letter written on December 29, telling Rowe that it finds the pastoral response “deeply inadequate” and adding: “The Church’s repeated failures have caused immeasurable harm to our family and eroded trust in its disciplinary systems.”
Bishop Rowe announced an accord on December 30, writing: “Under the terms of this pastoral response, Bishop Curry has agreed to write an apology to the complainants, who alleged that he did not appropriately oversee the allegations against Bishop Singh. Bishop Ousley will also write an apology to the complainants, who alleged that he did not provide timely pastoral care to them or complete a timely initial inquiry of the allegations against Bishop Singh. In addition, Bishop Ousley will complete training in the Title IV disciplinary canons, which I will prescribe. My office will also offer support for therapeutic and spiritual care to the complainants in keeping with Canon IV.8.1.”
The Singh family is especially critical of prescribing Title IV training to Bishop Ousley, writing:
“The suggestion that Bishop Ousley, after years of holding a position responsible for overseeing Title IV for bishops, now requires re-training is both absurd and deeply troubling. It implies that he was never fit to hold the job he was entrusted with, an explosive revelation that calls into question every case he handled and the very decision to hire him.”
Bishop Curry relieved Bishop Ousley of his Title IV duties in June 2023. In November, Bishop Rowe announced that Ousley would conclude his service at the Episcopal Church Center:
“Bishop Todd Ousley will conclude his ministry in the Office of Pastoral Development at the end of 2024 and will spend the time between now and the end of December assisting me by transitioning the work he has done so faithfully for the last seven years. In early 2025, Todd will take a sabbatical, and we will assess the structure of the Office of Pastoral Development and plan for the future.”
The Office of Public Affairs provides Bishop Rowe’s letter at this link. The Singh family’s letter follows.
Curry and Ousley Ref Panel Response by Douglas LeBlanc on Scribd
Douglas LeBlanc is the Associate Editor for Book Reviews and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. John’s Parish Church on Johns Island, South Carolina.