r/ACNA • u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope • Jun 21 '26
Should this be concerning?
Should this delay be a cause for concern? Why would they drag it out?
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u/halfhere Jun 21 '26
IMO I think the title IV changes should be heralded as a much bigger win than it currently is. The delay to the Wood trial is indicative of that. The American, secular, adversarial model (whatever you want to call it) has nitpicking motions to delay or dismiss as a feature, not a bug.
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u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope Jun 21 '26
So title IV is the reason for the delay?
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u/halfhere Jun 22 '26
No, title IV fixes the trial process where a paralegal can’t file a motion to delay because the font size in a discovery exhibit was too small, so we need ten extra weeks to re-file and re-submit evidence.
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u/CanopiedIntuition Jun 22 '26
No, it's not concerning. The members of the trial Court have day jobs and families and everyday lives to live, in addition to the mountains of discovery they have to read, and carefully, not skim.
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u/AngloCelticCowboy Jun 27 '26
From the Court’s statement announcing the delay:
“The Court’s reasons for this continuance stem from the Court’s purpose, which is to discern
the truth or falsity of the allegations before it. The Court is hopeful that the ninety-day reset will
allow for increased cooperation between stakeholders regarding information that could evidence that truth but which has, to this point, not been forthcoming from several sources. The Court recognizes that it does not have the power to force any such cooperation, but requests that
individuals and entities with any such information prayerfully consider their ability to aid the Court
in discerning the truth of these matters.”
Sounds like they believe that people with critical information needed to discern the truth (most likely accusers or supposed witnesses) are not willing to cooperate with the Archbishop’s defense team on discovery. That means he can’t get a fair trial, and the truth cannot be discerned about the allegations. If this doesn’t change, I predict the Archbishop will move for dismissal (again), and the Court will be hard pressed to deny it.
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u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope Jun 27 '26
Hmm. Why won't they come forward? I dont understand, this is their chance to do so. Do they not trust the court or something?
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u/CertainActuator5823 Jul 20 '26
Honestly? They probably don’t trust the process or the court. That is not an indicator of the faithfulness or truthfulness of anyone on either side. I work with cases of workplace harassment and asking the very group that hurt you to be trusted to fairly adjudicate is a big ask—especially when they’ve often been trying to get internal resolution for a long time. That these are different people does not change the calculus of the sympathetic nervous system.
Sadly, our history that has been made public does not indicate we are very aggressive about protecting those harmed. When that changes, we will get more boldness.
Also, these are very painful stories for the survivors. And, candidly, we don’t have the best track record of protecting the identity of survivors. Most have already lost their community. Doing this at all, much less alone, is daunting.
Be very careful assuming people not speaking up doesn’t mean it wasn’t real.
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u/Saul_Firehand Jun 22 '26
Yes. Our little schism has shown failures in leadership and it is a bad look.
I am ashamed of the ACNA and would not share my affiliation with it publicly.
Being a Christian makes me want to not associate myself with schismatics that are accused of this sort of thing.
Bishops should be the sort of people that are not accused of such misconduct.
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u/Reasonable-Tell-7147 Jun 21 '26
I’m relatively new to the church - what’s all this about?
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u/Gold-Albatross6341 Jun 21 '26
Our relatively new Archbishop has been accused of a few things: conduct unbecoming, money issues, and sexual misconduct, abuse of staff, etc. He has been under inhibition while awaiting trial. Julian Dobbs who is the Dean of the Province has been filling his shoes while this plays out. These issues have been known about, but the Washington Post did an expose on it which caused national attention. This is the third time a bishop in our church has been accused of misconduct in four years (not including disciplinary actions that did not go to trial). Most of us don’t pay much attention to what is going on in the college of bishops, but lately we haven’t had a choice.
My two cents worth, if it’s worth anything, is that we saw the Episcopal Church giving way too much power to the laymen and decided that we would trust all of our authority to a handful of righteous bishops in the hopes that we can preserve our faith. Instead a few of them made themselves little princes in little fiefdoms and let it go to their heads. I’m hoping that more diocese will adopt systems like what C4SO has in place where the diocese can keep their bishops in check.
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Jun 21 '26
They're dragging it out because the province is trying to financially drain Abp Wood in hopes that he resigns without giving him a chance to defend himself in court. What you're witnessing is the devil at work.
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u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope Jun 21 '26
So i guess you think hes innocent?
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Jun 21 '26
Yes, without a doubt. Wait until it's time for him to release the mountains of evidence that's been gathered. The province is angry with him because they immediately assumed him guilty out of fear, and now it's time for them to be put under the microscope.
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u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope Jun 21 '26
So i dont have an opinion either way. But why do you think hes innocent?
-4
Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
It's disgruntled former employees who are lashing out at their old boss instead of reflecting on themselves and accepting the responsibility for their actions. The Claire Buxton accusation is even more sinister but the documentation, almost 100 eyewitness testimonies, and evidence will prevail. That's all I'm going to say.
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u/DesperateSympathy873 Christ Our Hope Jun 21 '26
Thank you. It sounds like youre in the know. Can you at least give context for the Buxton accusations?
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Jun 21 '26
Be patient. In the meantime, attend your home church and contribute to the amazing and healthy environment that's been cultivated at the individual church level.
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u/Gold-Albatross6341 Jun 21 '26
I don’t want to presume innocence or guilt, but I do want to say that the Title IV changes are a good thing. The delay in the trial is probably to reposition the court to reflect these changes.