Our news page features abuse-related ACNA news and updates with commentary written by the ACNAtoo team.

In Solidarity with the Survivors of Jeff Taylor
ACNAtoo ACNAtoo

In Solidarity with the Survivors of Jeff Taylor

ACNAtoo stands in solidarity with the survivors of abuse by Jeff Taylor. Thank you for coming forward and minimizing your abuser’s access to future victims. We have seen and experienced what it costs to try to hold our own abusers and others accountable, within the ACNA and elsewhere, and we honor the steep price each of you paid and continue to pay.

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2024 Round-up
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2024 Round-up

As we conclude another year of advocacy, we’re grateful for our supporters inside and outside the ACNA. In 2024, our most popular blog posts educated readers on domestic violence, community grooming, and betrayal blindness.

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Growing Calls for Transparency
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Growing Calls for Transparency

ACNA clergy and laity have expressed growing concerns regarding ACNA’s lack of transparency around the trial process and the unexplained decision of senior ACNA bishops not to inhibit Bp. Ruch from ministry pending the trial’s completion.

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Clarification regarding Todd Atkinson
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Clarification regarding Todd Atkinson

While not focused on Atkinson himself, the letter contains this prescient reference in its single footnote: 'For example…some of us are troubled by the apparent claim to extra-biblical revelation by Bishop Todd. Others have raised concerns that the ‘unique discipleship method’ of VA may incline toward ‘Heavy Shepherding’ with its unaccountable reliance on one leader.' The priests’ important critique of the larger process remained unheeded, and these red flags about Atkinson were cast aside with it.

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Statement on Todd Atkinson’s Deposition
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Statement on Todd Atkinson’s Deposition

It is commendable that the bishops have finally voted to depose Atkinson, but it is concerning that the proceedings leading up to this decision dragged on for years. It is also unacceptable that the ACNA admitted Atkinson into the province in the first place, given that Canadian Anglican priests warned Bp. Charlie Masters in 2018 about Atkinson’s prior misconduct and asked him not to hastily recommend Atkinson to the ACNA.

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Rev. Dan Claire’s Petition Denied
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Rev. Dan Claire’s Petition Denied

On November 6, 2023, the ACNA released a document from the Provincial Tribunal which shows that in April 2023 Rev. Claire petitioned the Tribunal for an “end to all judicial proceedings related to the complaints raised in 2020 and 2021 or claims similar thereto.”

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Board of Inquiry announces second ecclesiastical trial for Bishop Stewart Ruch
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Board of Inquiry announces second ecclesiastical trial for Bishop Stewart Ruch

On November 6, 2023, the ACNA Province announced that a Board of Inquiry appointed by Archbishop Foley Beach found probable cause to present Bp. Stewart Ruch of the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest (UMD) for an ecclesiastical trial for violation of Canons IV.2.4 and IV.2.10, as laid out in a presentment brought by three bishops on December 23, 2022.

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Bp. Ruch’s Ecclesiastical Trial
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Bp. Ruch’s Ecclesiastical Trial

On August 15, 2023 the ACNA Province released two announcements regarding Stewart Ruch, Bishop of the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest (UMD). The first was a declaration from the Board of Inquiry that Bp. Ruch is headed for an ecclesiastical trial. The second was an update on the two presentments brought against Bp. Ruch.

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Survivors Suffer As Bishops Battle: A Statement on the ACNA Crisis of Governance
Abbi Nye Abbi Nye

Survivors Suffer As Bishops Battle: A Statement on the ACNA Crisis of Governance

Can there be meaningful accountability for leaders accused of mishandling abuse, waging covert warfare against survivors, and committing gross negligence of their pastoral duties? Or will personal influence, infighting, partisanship, and cronyism gain the spotlight? Canonical processes and procedures have a purpose: to safeguard the people and protect the life of the church from that which could hinder it.

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Rivera Takes Plea Deal in Rape Case
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Rivera Takes Plea Deal in Rape Case

Rivera was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault of a victim unable to give knowing consent. Today he agreed to a plea deal for one of the charges and will accept a 6-year sentence per that deal.

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ACNAtoo 2022-2023: Whistleblowers, Warnings, and What You Can Do
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ACNAtoo 2022-2023: Whistleblowers, Warnings, and What You Can Do

ACNAtoo was launched in June 2021 in response to the pleas of survivors of sexual abuse and their advocates in the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest. We now exist to support survivors reporting abuse in all dioceses of the ACNA. After a busy year, we’re looking back on the events of 2022 and looking forward with hope to the year ahead.

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Statement on the Recent Challenge to Helen Keuning’s Testimony
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Statement on the Recent Challenge to Helen Keuning’s Testimony

On Thursday, November 3, ACNAtoo received documentation and an assertion from Church of the Resurrection Deacon Will Chester challenging the veracity of an entry in our recent Timeline installment.

This statement addresses that challenge in depth, starting with the events that led us to include the testimony in question in our Timeline.

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Rivera’s trial resumes again
Abbi Nye Abbi Nye

Rivera’s trial resumes again

Mark Rivera’s bench trial will resume on Friday, October 14, at the Kane Co. Judicial Center, over 41 months since the young girl’s parents notified police of Mark’s alleged sexual abuse. This will be the 46th scheduled court appearance for this family in their journey through the criminal justice system.

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Rivera’s Trial Delayed Again
ACNAtoo ACNAtoo

Rivera’s Trial Delayed Again

Mark Rivera’s bench trial was postponed again on September 2 when the defense did not conclude their case. It will resume on September 29, over twelve weeks after the trial began on July 12.

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