As noted in earlier posts it was a major shock for people in CORE to find out that Willi Stewart had been involved in a sexual assault. In the early days ministerial friends minimised the issue of the assault. The emphasis was on finding a way to Get Willi off the hook. Forgiveness was all the rage, and it is likely that Willi like in the earlier case would have been able to ride this one out.
However, by a twist of fate the mother of the victim found a note from Willi in the back pocket of her son when doing the laundry. Early in February the Archbishop corrected me and said Willi was stepping down*, but as the congregation became aware of the real circumstances they were getting very angry. Willi confessed his sin and resigned.
You have to remember that the family had a son who was very excited about being part of CORE, he was also part of worship group and was prominent in Sunday Services where Willi asked him share. Willi Stewart told the family that he felt called to mentor him, now they realise that he was in fact grooming him. By the time his mother found the letter, his family observed that he was a very unhappy young man. Now we know he was traumatised since 2002 and left the Church without explaining the reason. Nobody from the Church followed him up after his departure.
The family were part of CORE and but when they became aware of the sordid events they departed. Having met the victim I felt he was nearly beyond the range of pastoral help, because too much time had elapsed in my professional opinion. I was invited by the family to assist, but after the initial activity I only had periodic contact with them. I proposed that the family visit Archbishop John Neill. With hindsight I believe I made an error in not going with them to be a witness at the meeting. The reason was quite simple, we considered that a Pentecostal Minister who had an all Ireland role and was party to information about the first affair Willi had had would be a better reference point in discussions with the Archbishop than myself who had no such first hand knowledge. Unfortunately, he did not participate in discussions and the Archbishop from subsequent correspondence thought he was their pastor. This was also unfortunate in that it might have informed his understanding later when he terminated communication with me. The victim was waiting for follow up from the Church of Ireland but heard nothing so eventually he became frustrated and decided to visit One in four. They advised him to take his case to the Garda clerical sexual assault unit. It was then taken out completely out of his hands.
During that period before the trial there was a general feeling that Willi’s transgressions were minor and the family were possibly exaggerating things. It is obvious from the fact that when Willi was instituted in a group of Churches there was nothing to be concerned about. There were people present who saw this as his moment of rehabilitation. Nigel Reid, during this period had a leadership role in Core and is currently a leader at Mountain View Church in Bray expresses this well in his presentation in Core in June of this year. He had previously had a role in the victim’s spiritual formation at Core when the victim was of on a one year course run by Core. http://www.corechurch.ie/resources/podcast/C93/ He at the time or at any stage since has never approached the victim or the family.
This news sent shock waves through the congregation and the leadership. Two members of the leadership visited the family on one occasion. A member of the Trust wrote a letter of sympathy as did another married couple in the congregation. The couple already were aware that an inappropriate relationship had taken place some years earlier with another young man from the congregation. The husband of the couple was approached by the person who Willi had an inappropriate affair with prior to the husband’s involvement in Core. He at that time had a leadership role in the Vineyard Church. It is noteworthy that this person subsequently left the other Church and joined Core with this knowledge. As far I know he is the only person from that period currently on the interim leadership team.
The Archbishop offered counselling in a verbal statement read out when he met the family in 2004. After that he did not communicate with the victim or family after the initial meeting on the basis that court proceedings were occurring. With our growing awareness of the problems of victims in recent years and recently with the Cloyne report it is clear that no pastoral strategy was put in place and the onus was put on the victim to ask for help, a recipe for nothing to happen. The leadership in Core was put in place till 2005, and possibly they would say that the Archbishop had taken over from them so they could not intervene. They could have resigned however, and made people aware that through their neglect the events of 2002 took place. One pastoral leader in Core left, but generally no action transpired and by 2005 pastoral actions in my view were never going to work.
In our next post we will show the aftermath of the trial, the guilty verdict had no effect as it was not broadcast to the public, then the move to permanent exile and loss of ministry never materialised. There was no attempt to prove amendment of life by repentance nor an attempt to put right the wrong to the victim. We will also show how the sentence and leniency of the court in giving Willi the Probation Act 1.1 was used as a way back to ministry in Kilkenny in a minor way and then in Norwich in a full way. When the legal limit of the probation act was complete in 2010 this was as seen by the Church of Ireland and by the Church of England as removing any impediment to his returning to full ministry. This after the Archbishop of Dublin gave a solemn undertaking that his licence would be revoked permanently. He did acknowledge that it was his wish that this would happen in all parts of the Anglican Communion, but he could not guarantee this. The idea that we would publish the correspondence will be shown from the correspondence with David Pierrepoint, Archdeacon after the trial. It was effective in the States as within a short time the Stewart family had to return to Ireland, but you would have thought that the Bishop of Cashel and Ossorry would not have gone against this decision of the Archbishop? I was reliably informed that the former Bishop had held this position but the new Bishop Michael Burrows had different views. In other words when the Church of England was presented with the file on this case they took the same view, namely that once the probation act had run out they were not interested in Christian discipline. They in other words use civil and criminal law to address issues of Church discipline?
* The Most Reverend Dr. John R W Neill
Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough,
Primate of Ireland and Metropolitan
T 00353)1 4977849
F ax 00353)14976355
The See House
17 Tcmple Road
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Dublin 6 archbishop@dublin.angican.org
Monday, O8 March 2004
STATEMENT FROM THE ARCHBISHOP
It is with deep sadness that I announce that today I received the resignation of the Revd William James Stewart as Minister (Priest-in-Charge) of C.O.RE. Church, Dublin. Across the last ten years, under his, leadership this church has grown from its foundation to become a large and thriving congregation in the city with a vital ministry through renewal, evangelism and service.
As Archbishop, l am concerned to extend to Willi and to Ruth his wife, and to their family our concern as a church, and indeed as a diocese, for them. I will continue to ensure that we extend to them the pastoral care and support that they require at a time of great change in their lives. In June, Willi Stewart will be entering a period of reflection and rehabilitation in the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, and will be accompanied by Ruth and the family. May God bless them as they venture into the unknown.
During the next few months, the Trustees of C.O.R.E. will have to seek to nominate a new priest to lead that church into a new phase in its ministry. During this period, I am putting in place the following interim arrangements. I have asked Andrew McNeile to continue in overall leadership of the team of lay leaders and of the congregation, and the Revd Jack Heaslip to take charge of the Pastoral and Sacramental ministry in CORE. I have every confidence that together they will give the sensitive and prayerful ministry required at a time of transition.
Filed under: Abuse, Evangelicalism
Very interesting information. Hope all the necessary people will take note…this must never happen again.
Why has this been kept secret???? Who is being protected???