Episcopal bishop accused of not enforcing 'safe church' measures against pastor
An Episcopal Church bishop based in California has been accused of not properly enforcing disciplinary action against a pastor who allegedly failed to properly vet a sex offender.
Earlier this week, The Christian Post was directed to an Anglican Watch story from July 30 accusing Bishop Lucinda Ashby of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real of mishandling a Title IV disciplinary complaint.
At issue, according to Anglican Watch, was an incident in which the Rev. Ruth Casipit-Paguio of Holy Family Episcopal Church of San Jose, failed to enforce “Safe Church requirements.”
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“Casipit-Paguio reportedly didn’t bother to run background checks on church staff and volunteers during that time, a violation of diocesan policy. Possibly as a result, a known pedophile listed on a state sex offender registry attempted to become involved with the parish. That individual obtained keys to the church,” claimed Anglican Watch.
“When the matter came to Casipit-Paguio’s attention, the parish removed the offender from leadership. Still, Casipit-Paguio allegedly declined to report the matter to the police, as required by law. Moreover, neither parishioners nor other parishes were alerted to the issue, thereby placing children and others at risk.”
An unnamed individual filed a Title IV complaint against Casipit-Paguio, with Anglican Watch claiming that the complaint was “brushed off by the reference panel,” with the site stating that the bishop “is one of the members of the intake panel.”
The Christian Post reached out to the Episcopal Diocese of Camino Real on Wednesday for a response, with a spokesperson explaining that, because of “the sensitivity of the issue, we are unable to provide comments on Title IV or pastoral concerns.”
The Episcopal Church has garnered internal criticism in recent months over its Title IV disciplinary process, which some believe does not properly handle credible abuse allegations.
Last year, Episcopal House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris publicly accused a retired bishop of having "physically overpowered" her and made "inappropriate verbal statements."
"Going through the Title IV process this past year was not something I would want anyone to have to endure," wrote Ayala Harris, as quoted by ENS. "Yet, living through that experience has given me an important perspective that I can apply in my leadership role, and it has renewed my long-lasting commitment to increased safety in our communities."
Last December, the ex-wife and two adult sons of former Bishop Prince Singh filed a complaint against Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Episcopal Bishop Todd Ousley over their alleged mishandling of abuse accusations against Singh.
The family members argued that Curry and Ousley, the latter of whom had served as an intake officer for complaints against bishops, failed to properly follow the Title IV process.
In February, the Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs announced the launching of a new "three-part protocol" to better explain and promote the disciplinary process for bishops.
The three aspects included a newly created webpage for reporting alleged misconduct, a separate webpage that gives updates for ongoing disciplinary cases and "an annual statistical report on complaints involving bishops and their outcomes."
