The diocese of Algoma has broken new ground with a canon outlining procedures for dealing with allegations of sexual harassment. Algoma is the first diocese to formalize the process in canon law.
Canadian churches, including the Anglican Church of Canada, are beginning to deal with the issue of clergy involvement with child pornography. In December 2009, the Rev. Robin Barrett, an Anglican priest in the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, was charged with five counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. "Sam Mikhail, a psychologist and clinical director at the Southdown Institute in Aurora, Ont., said addicted clergy compartmentalize their dual lives to cope with serving parishioners while privately feeding a harmful compulsion. Southdown, a non-profit facility that opened in 1965, treats clergy with a spectrum of mental health problems." "Barrett's case is the first time the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador has faced child pornography. The incident has led the diocese to overhaul its sexual misconduct protocol, which dates back to 1996. 'When it was written, we were (dealing with) sexual harassment, exploitation, rape', said Archdeacon Sandra Tilley, who heads mission development in the diocese. 'The issue has broadened with the Internet, so we are revising the protocol'. Barrett's arrest was 'a shock to everybody', she added, and the diocese brought in an expert to help clergy understand the scope of the problem. The church needs to talk about the damage done by pornography, said Tilley". Includes inset column of statistics titled "By the numbers" about commercial child pornography.
Although the police have investigated the complaint against Archdeacon Thomas Corston and found no basis for criminal charges, the diocese of Algoma will go ahead with an ecclesiastical court.
The Rev. Warren Ealing [sic i.e. Eling], priest of the Church of St. James the Apostle, was violently murdered in his home in Montreal on 9 November 1993. Fr. Eling was widely rumoured to have been gay.
"The Toronto policy is included because it is presently being used in a number of other dioceses, and might be a useful precedent for others contemplating such a policy."
Archdeacon Tom Maxwell, national co-ordinator of Anglican Renewal Ministries, has had his license as a priest suspended in the Diocese of Edmonton for sexual misconduct with a minor.
The Rev. Antonio Osorio, the priest who is widely recognized for his advocacy for the poor, has resigned from his parish after admitting to sexual misconduct.