Time for Action: Part 04, Other Disciplinary Actions
Time for Action is a series of posts detailing ACNAtoo’s July 15 open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach,
expanding on the action items listed and providing background regarding why they are of paramount importance and continue to deserve a public response.
In our July 15 open letter to Archbishop Foley Beach, we specifically called out three leaders in our letter for their grave dereliction of duty:
We ask that the Province place Chancellor Philbrick and Deacon McIntyre on leave from their respective duties until the survivors’ credible allegations have been investigated by an independent third party.
We ask that the Province provide clarity as to whether the Rev. Rand York has been disciplined by the UMD for his gross mismanagement of allegations within his parish or whether he remains a priest in good standing.
First, our open letter details some of the failures of Chancellor Philbrick and Deacon McIntyre. It is important to note that placing these two individuals on leave accomplishes two things: it stops ongoing harm and it prevents future harm. In brief, that is our goal at ACNAtoo. We want to separate people who are actively causing harm from their victims, and we want to use the opportunity created by the leave of absence to prevent future harm from occurring.
We are heartened to see that both individuals are taking leaves of absence.
Second, in the case of Fr. York, Bp. Ruch assured the survivors on multiple occasions starting in May 2019 that he was dealing with York’s dereliction of duty. Given Bp. Ruch’s untrustworthy communication, as well as photographic evidence of Fr. York acting in a priestly role in January 2021, clarification is needed. For the mental health of survivors and for congregants everywhere who are watching to see if justice will be done, a public statement on Fr. York’s status is of crucial importance.
Image taken from the Light of Christ Facebook page, accessible here.
To read the full letter and/or add your name to the growing list of signatories, you can access the original post here.