September 1, 2015 – Grass Lake, MI (ROEA) - The Episcopate Office has been notified by the Office for Review of Sexual Misconduct Allegations (ORSMA) of the Orthodox Church in America, that His Grace, Bishop Irineu (Duvlea), Bishop of Dearborn Heights and Auxiliary Bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, is being investigated for allegations of sexual misconduct.
His Grace Irineu is presumed innocent pending the outcome of the investigation. According to the Policies, Standards and Procedures (PSP) of ORSMA, His Grace Irineu has been placed on Leave of Absence and does not have a blessing to serve liturgically in our Episcopate or at any other location.
The process is highly confidential, and no one should discuss the investigation with anyone. However, since this investigation is being made known to others by His Grace Irineu, the Episcopate decided to make a general public announcement about this matter. We pray for His Grace, Bishop Irineu and all those participating in this process.
+NATHANIEL, Archbishop
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Another OCA bishop accused of sexual impropriety
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This is getting old. The OCA needs to vet its bishops more carefully.
ReplyDeleteIs it primarily the OCA that has this problem? I'm unfamiliar with the sex scandals of Orthodoxy and which churches have the most problems with it.
DeleteAn interesting thing I've noticed is that Roman Catholics had it really bad, it blew up, and now things have gotten much better with crackdowns and emphasis on "safe-environment" programs and the like. Orthodoxy never exploded like the RC's so it seems to be a steady trickle. Then Anglicanism is, well, Anglicanism.
I am troubled by the attempt of the church to stifle the information:
ReplyDelete"Members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, welcomed the fact that Popp had made the investigation public. However, the group feels the archbishop isn’t going far enough.
Melanie Jula Sakoda, the Orthodox Director for SNAP, said “Investigations into sexual misconduct should always be made public, and I was very pleased to see that Archbishop Nathaniel had made this announcement. Such disclosures encourage others who experienced witnessed or suspected abuse to come forward.
But the archbishop shouldn’t stop with an internet posting. He should use every resource at his disposal - mailings, parish announcements - to notify people in every church where Bishop Irineu worked of this recent development.”
“The Church should also supply additional information,” added Cappy Larson, also of SNAP Orthodox, “Did the misconduct involve a parishioner? If so, was the victim a child, an adult, a male, a female? How many victims have come forward? More complete disclosure can help to jog memories and reassure other survivors, producing additional testimony and evidence.” http://www.pokrov.org/bishop-on-leave-pending-sexual-misconduct-investigation/