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CHICAGO: Group wants Episcopal priest removed
Episcopal Church sanctioned him after probe of allegations
By Manya A. Brachear
Tribune staff reporter
September 14, 2005
Victims advocates called Tuesday for the removal of an Episcopal priest who has been sanctioned after an investigation of an alleged attempted sexual assault from more than 10 years ago.
Rev. Errol Narain, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church on Chicago's South Side, has been placed under additional supervision and restrictions after a woman made what church officials believe to be credible allegations that he forced himself on her inside his family's home in 1994, Bishop William Persell said Tuesday. Neither the diocese nor the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests would identify her.
Narain and his lawyer, Truman Gibson, deny the allegations. They also dispute that Narain's ministry has been restricted.
"I have no response because the issue is very hearsay," said Narain, 56, an immigrant from South Africa. "There is no issue at all. ... They have done their investigations. It is 'I said, she said.'"
No criminal charges or civil lawsuits have been filed. And according to a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney, no complaints about Narain have ever been reported to authorities.
Persell said the diocese received an anonymous and cryptic complaint in August 2004 from an unidentified woman who also did not identify the alleged offender. In the complaint, the woman reported that a priest had tried to sexually assault her 10 years before and continued to harass her. The diocese found these allegations credible.
A month later, officials determined the identity of the alleged victim and the priest and launched an investigation, including background checks and psychological evaluations of the priest, Persell said. When the Tribune provided Persell with Narain's name on Tuesday, Persell confirmed that he was the priest in question.
In February, Narain and Gibson--a parishioner who helped hire Narain more than 14 years ago--distributed a letter to the congregation at Trinity asking for members' support during the investigation. Last month, officials from the diocese met with the congregation to inform them of the allegations and invite other potential victims to come forward. Persell said the diocese has received no other complaints.
Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests protested in front of diocesan headquarters Tuesday calling for Narain's removal.
Because the alleged events in question took place more than a decade ago, Persell said, many disciplinary measures are unavailable under secular and canon law, even when allegations have been substantiated.
"This has been a very frustrating time to deal with the time limits both from the state and this church," he said. "It restricts our ability to remove a priest for misconduct with an adult. ... If it had been a case with a minor, it would have been a different story. But we're stuck with what we're stuck with."
An Episcopal Church task force will probably recommend the removal of the 10-year statute of limitations for the national church's disciplinary canons at the 2006 General Convention.
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