An Open Letter to the Episcopal Church:

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We received with sorrow the news of the accord this week in the Title IV matters concerning

alleged financial misdealings and systematic discrimination in contravention of our Title III non-

discrimination canons by former Episcopal bishop John Howard.

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We understand that the Title IV disciplinary process, in its highest purpose, is intended to foster

reconciliation rather than punishment, and to support the amendment of one's life. In many Title

IV cases, an accord is a proper ending that preserves reasonable privacy and provides for

restitution and transformation. However, the ending of these specific cases sends a different

message to the church, that a refusal to cooperate with a Title IV case can lead to an ending in

which those harmed in an ongoing and systematic way by one of our bishops will continue to bear

the burden of the harm that was done to them, without even an official airing on what has occurred,

let alone restitution made.

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In these specific Title IV cases, the alleged harm includes significant assets moved from the

diocese to the respondent; years of significant compensation from an unknown donor for unknown

purposes with unknown consequences for the diocese served by their bishop; and finally,

significant harm done to dozens of LGBTQ+ persons in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, many

of whom suffered materially in being unable to work, as well as emotional and spiritual harm. The

individuals harmed, the Diocese of Florida, and The Episcopal Church as a whole deserve to

understand what took place, to aid the church’s reckoning with its complicity in both systemic

discrimination and in clericalism that puts deference to clergy, especially bishops, ahead of its

embrace of all God’s people. Of course, the investment of resources in a public hearing had to be

considered, but in our experience, there is a bigger and longer-term cost to sweeping away the

issues that continue to be unheard in many places. The role of money and of time-consuming

non-compliance in this process sends a message, again, that a refusal to cooperate in a costly

proceeding can allow one to avoid accountability.

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We do see and hear the heartfelt apology offered by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe to the LGBTQ+

community and its allies across the church for the years of harm caused by former bishop John

Howard, and we deeply appreciate it. We also wonder why it is so hard for our church to have the

courage to tell the full truth about what happened. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the

truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Truth is the only pathway to reconciliation, in this case and

in so many others, including our church’s complicity in slavery and in the Native American

boarding schools.

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Presiding Bishop Rowe has indicated that the church will make “a substantial contribution to [the

Diocese of Florida’s] ongoing efforts toward healthier governance, greater accountability in

financial matters, increased transparency, and full inclusion in matters of human sexuality.” This

statement in itself is clearly an acknowledgement of the harm done to that diocese by their former

bishop. We hope the pastoral support he also offers to the complainants is substantial, as they

will no longer have the opportunity for the healing that comes from being heard and seen. They

have been the “persistent widows” in this case, but their voices, in the end, have not been fully

heard by the church.

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We will continue to hold all the parties in our prayers in the hope of true accountability and

reconciliation in the years to come; we pray for peace for those who bravely came forward with

their stories; and we pray for the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida as they work to move

forward toward healing and the election of a new bishop.

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In all of this, we pray that somehow the whole world may see and know that things which were

cast down are being raised up, that things that had grown old are being made new, and that all

things – all of us – are being brought to completion by the Word through whom all things were

made, Jesus Christ our Savior.

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In Christ,

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The Episcopal Consultation