On the latest episode of Anglican Unscripted (#958), George Conger related a shocking case of malfeasance in ACNA. He says that there is a situation where an assistant priest became aware of safeguarding problems with a youth minister–specifically the youth minister had created and consumed child pornography (I assume in the past?).
The assistant priest reported this to the rector, who decided to handle it pastorally rather than following the laws of the state and the church canons. Due to this, the assistant priest reported the situation directly to the diocese. Because of doing the right thing, the assistant priest was forced to retire, in essence was fired in retaliation. No action was taken with the rector who had broken the law and disobeyed canons.
Conger gathered information for his story and talked to the Bishop of this unnamed diocese. After talking to the Bishop, the Bishop issued a Godly Admonition against the reporting and now “retired” assistant priest for talking to Conger!
So you have:
- A youth minister who created child porn.
- A priest who failed to report him.
- A priest who reports, is fired, and then disciplined for talking about the case!
This is shocking, probably illegal, and requires the immediate attention of ACNA at all levels. It sounds like, and probably is, the case that Bishop Jones has mentioned in his court filings:
In or about May 2025, JAFC officers discovered that an Anglican bishop had failed to notify law enforcement, as required by law, after having received a valid notification that an applicant for a ministerial position with ACNA may have been implicated in a child pornography offense. Bishop Jones reported this to Wood, as well as another incident of potential misconduct by a different bishop, expecting Wood to commence disciplinary actions in both instances.
Shameful.
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