D015 (Examine the disparity in treatment in the adjudication of Clergy under Title IV Disciplinary Process by Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation)

House of Bishops Message #275

The House of Bishops informs the House of Deputies that on Jun 28, 2024 it considered resolution D015 (Examine the disparity in treatment in the adjudication of Clergy under Title IV Disciplinary Process by Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation). The house acted to:

Concur with Referral to an Interim Body


Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That the 81th General Convention of The Episcopal Church direct the Office of Pastoral Development to maintain statistics of the Racial, Ethnic, Gender and Sexual Orientation of men and women who have been subjected to a Reference Panel inquiry, or where an accord has been reached, or where there has been an adjudication of guilt (i.e. a sentence imposed upon the cleric, which permanently inhibited in their ministry), as a result of being disciplined under Title IV and to report them annually to the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the 81st General Convention direct the Office of Pastoral Development in consultation with the Office for Transition Ministry, dioceses, the Archives of The Episcopal Church and other appropriate agencies to gather data annually about 1). the composition by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation of men and women who have been subjected to a Reference Panel inquiry, or where an accord has been reached, or where there has been an adjudication of guilt (i.e., a sentence imposed which rendered the cleric permanently inhibited in the exercise of their ministry), as a result of being disciplined under Title IV, and 2) the numbers of all male and female clergy by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation of men and women who have been subjected to a Reference Panel inquiry, or where an accord has been reached, or where there has been an adjudication of guilt (i.e., a sentence imposed which rendered the cleric permanently inhibited in the exercise of their ministry), as a result of being disciplined under Title IV, and to broadly disseminate the report by electronic and other means on an annual basis; and be it further

Resolved, That the 81st General Convention direct the Office of Pastoral Development in consultation with the Office for Transition Ministry, dioceses, the Archives of The Episcopal Church and other appropriate agencies to gather data going back from the year 1996 to the year 2024 about 1). the composition by race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation of men and women who have been subjected to a Reference Panel inquiry, or where an accord has been reached, or where there has been an adjudication of guilt (i.e., a sentence imposed which rendered the cleric permanently inhibited in the exercise of their ministry), as a result of being disciplined under Title IV, and 2). the numbers of all male and female clergy by race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation of men and women who have been subjected to a Reference Panel inquiry, or where an accord has been reached, or where there has been an adjudication of guilt (i.e., a sentence imposed which rendered the cleric permanently inhibited in the exercise of their ministry), as a result of being disciplined under Title IV, and to report those findings to the Church.