“I will let the others speak for themselves, but as things stand, my official stance is that I’d prefer to wait and get a better understanding of what a GRACE assessment might accomplish, and put the brakes on enlisting an independent investigation, unless and until we can find an investigator that can speak to every concern I brought up in this letter, and satisfy Cherin and me that they are able to do a GRACE-level job finding and reporting the truth, not merely performing a perfunctory adjudication that risks leaving victims worse off than we were before.”

Excerpt from Joanna’s Feb 21, 2021 email to Bp. Stewart Ruch, Dn. Steve Williamson, and Cn. Eirik Olsen, and Anne Kessler (emphasis mine).

“Because of what we’ve learned recently from GRACE themselves, it seems that the independent investigation, and possibly even the organizational assessment, would need to wait until a later time in order to be done as safely and thoroughly as possible. I believe GRACE could still be invaluable in offering immediate training and support to create a safe space for victims within the church and the diocese, and we would greatly prefer that any investigation or organizational assessment be postponed until they are able to be safely carried out by GRACE.”

Excerpt from Cherin’s Feb 21, 2021 email to Bp. Stewart Ruch, Dn. Steve Williamson, Can. Eirik Olsen, and Anne Kessler (emphasis mine).