An Australian bishop leaked the content of this letter by way of gossip at the Australian Bishops Conference. The text was released to The Australian with a headline that ran Archbishop Hepworth to return to Catholic fold as Indian, not chief.

Hepworth has not yet decided whether he will accept the Catholic Church's offer.

The article reports that Hepworth "will be forced to relinquish his role as the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion if he is to reconcile with the Catholic Church, after being informed he will only be accepted as a layperson".

This ends years of speculation that the Archbishop would be reinstated into the priesthood in the Ordinariate, bringing an alleged, but never confirmed, 700,000 Anglo-Catholics with him.

Hepworth had hoped that recent revelations that he had been sexually abused by three priests would be mitigating circumstances to allow him to return to Rome as a priest. That did not happen. He revealed that he had been seduced by a Roman Catholic monsignor who denied the charges.

The Catholic Church in Adelaide says an investigation found no substance to allegations made by Hepworth against Fr. Ian Dempsey. You can read the story here: http://tinyurl.com/7uvtl3n

Two other persons Hepworth named have since died. Hepworth also ruffled too many Roman Catholic feathers when he publicly blasted what he saw as efforts by Roman Catholic authorities to take over parts of his Canadian flock.

Over time, TAC jurisdictions in Canada, the US, South Africa and India rejected the Pope's personal offer of an Ordinariate and requested that Hepworth step down as Primate of the TAC. He refused. One commentator described the whole Ordinariate process as an "impersonal machine" calling the [Roman Catholic] Church both "medieval and modern."

One pro-TAC blog called it "the ecclesiastical equivalent of a judge sentencing a man to be hanged by the neck until dead for stealing a loaf of bread."

However, the Complementary Norms attached to Anglicanorum Coetibus are clear in (Article 6 §2): "Those who have been previously ordained in the Catholic Church and subsequently have become Anglicans may not exercise sacred ministry in the Ordinariate. Anglican clergy who are in irregular marriage situations may not be accepted for Holy Orders in the Ordinariate."

One TAC priest opined, "It might have been helpful if we could have been informed right at the beginning that there were no mitigating circumstances whatsoever, and that this rule would be applied absolutely."

There is a certain parallel here with that of Pennsylvania Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison. He was found guilty of covering up his brother's (a priest) sexual abuse of a minor and was inhibited and later deposed. A trial of his peers found him guilty, but he later returned as bishop when it was learned that the judgment exceeded the Statute of Limitations.

The Anglican Church in America (ACA) is still a part of TAC. They, along with five jurisdictions, have called on Hepworth to resign as primate. They want a new archbishop. While Hepworth has been asked to step down, he has not responded to demands, ACA Presiding Bishop Brian Marsh told VOL.

In Philadelphia, Bishop David L. Moyer, a close personal friend of Hepworth's and former rector of Church of the Good Shepherd before being tossed out by the Diocese of Pennsylvania, will not soon be a part of either the ACA or the TAC. He and his splinter group have applied for permission to join Rome through the Ordinariate. Moyer jumped the first hurdle when he was notified recently that he had received a nulla osta from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome. This is by no means the final step, however. He must still pass psychological examinations and background checks for ordination as a deacon and priest in the Catholic Church.

His lawsuits and a lawsuit from his former attorney might come back to haunt him as circumstances have for Archbishop John Hepworth.

*****

Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth takes complaint to police

By Political Reporter Catherine Hockley in Canberra
www.AdelaideNow.com
November 29, 2011

ARCHBISHOP John Hepworth has reported allegations he was raped by a senior Adelaide Catholic priest more than 40 years ago to the SA Police.

A former Catholic priest, Archbishop Hepworth, from a breakaway Anglican group, went to the Wakefield Street police station this afternoon to make a report.

The development followed the release of the findings of a three-month investigation commissioned by the Adelaide Archdiocese of the Catholic Church and conducted by prominent Adelaide QC Michael Abbott into the claims.

Theinvestigation found no substance to the allegations.

Archbishop Hepworth refused to be interviewed for the investigation. He has claimed he had been raped by three Catholic priests more than 40 years ago.

The investigation was conducted by lawyer Michael Abbott, QC, who also found "there was no undue delay" in the church's handling of the case.

Mr Abbott was critical of Senator Nick Xenophon, who named the priest at the centre of the allegations, Monsignor Ian Dempsey, in Parliament in September because of concerns there had been a delay in dealing with the case.

But Senator Xenophon yesterday branded the investigation "a joke" and "a flawed process".

"John Hepworth wasn't even interviewed. This makes the Spanish Inquisition look fair," he said.

The naming of Monsignor Dempsey triggered a national storm that led to Monsignor David Cappo, who had been handling the case for the church, being asked to withdraw from a new role leading Federal Government mental health reform.

During his investigation, Mr Abbott interviewed 29 witnesses and reviewed a range of documents relating to the allegations.

The rape was alleged to have occurred more than 40 years ago when Archbishop Hepworth and Monsignor Dempsey were young Catholic priests.

Mr Abbott delivered a 150-page report on the claims to the head of the Adelaide Archdiocese, Archbishop Philip Wilson. He concluded that the allegations were unfounded.

"I have interviewed all the witnesses available to me and I have, through my instructing solicitors, made many requests for Archbishop Hepworth to be interviewed by me.

"I also had complete access to the Archives of the Archdiocese and to the records of the Glenelg Parish," Mr Abbott told the The Advertiser.

"I reached the conclusions I did ... after taking into account all of the evidence which was available to me. On that basis I did not accept the allegations made by Archbishop Hepworth concerning Monsignor Dempsey.

"I note that Monsignor Dempsey was named by Senator Xenophon as the person in respect of whom Archbishop Hepworth has made these allegations.

"I also note that Senator Xenophon conducted no inquiry, interviewed no witnesses and had access to no documents (except Archbishop Hepworth's accounts) before taking the course he did in the Senate.

"In view of the conclusions that I have come to in my report, it is regrettable that Senator Xenophon took the course he did before an investigation had been concluded."

Last night, Monsignor Dempsey said he was "very much relieved that Mr Abbott has discerned the truth regarding the false accusations".

"From the beginning I have categorically denied the accusations, but even though I know of my own innocence it has been a very trying and difficult period of my life," he said.

Archbishop Wilson yesterday said he was "satisfied that Mr Abbott examined every aspect of the allegations raised by Archbishop Hepworth".

END