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WASHINGTON, D.C.: Priest "regrets" excommunication of parishioner
Diocese Drops Charges
by Patrick Shaughness
12/30/2005
I received a decision today from the Disciplinary Review Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington which dismisses canonical charges filed against Rev. Alison Quin. Charges against Rev. Albie Hazen and the Rev. Canon Carol Cole Flanagan had previously been dismissed.
The charges stemmed from Quin's excommunication of my wife, Linda Graves Shaughness, in April, 2004 when she was a parishioner at St. David's, Washington, DC. The complaint, filed by myself and our daughter, Gabrielle, accused Quin and the other respondents of illegal and abusive conduct calculated to expel Linda from the parish Vestry for what Quin had called Linda's "dissenting theological position(s)".
The Committee decision finds that our complaint, sworn under oath, does not support the charges made against Rev. Quin.
Our complaint pointed out that the rubric was imposed in public, violating the requirements of the Book of Common Prayer [page 409]. The decision cites a letter written by Quin to our Bishop in which she regrets "not taking greater care in her handling of the disciplinary matter". We have not received this letter and it is not clear why it should be considered exculpatory.
Furthermore, this decision does not conclude the disciplinary process.
In August, 2005 it came to my attention that the Rector of Quin's current parish, Rev. Ken Howard, had made statements about Linda which repeated and added to false accusations made by Quin. I asked our Bishop to temporarily inhibit Quin and Howard so as to protect our family from further harm, and to forward the complaint to the Disciplinary Review Committee. He refused to inhibit the priests, but the complaint against Howard remains before the Committee. The Committee has never dealt with Howard's conduct, which I found worse than Quin's in some ways.
So because the matter still under consideration, I am not in a position to comment further on the substance of the complaint or the Committee deliberations.
I am a realist regarding the fairness and integrity of the ECUSA disciplinary process. Whatever the final outcome, any person can read the Committee decisions and our complaint and decide for themselves if the abuse heaped upon our family, which we describe under oath, is addressed or justified.
And since our complaint was posted on the internet, many have expressed shock at the heavy-handed conduct of the priests and others involved, who include the highest officials in our Diocese. We have been heartened by the support and prayers offered by Christians all over the world. We have heard other stories of persons who have been excommunicated just to remove them from a Vestry or to otherwise silence them.
I remain prayerful, and hopeful, that our Church will act justly.
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