Bishop’s rejection of findings ‘a travesty,’ provincial officer who carried out investigation says
Bishop of Western Newfoundland John Organ says he will not follow recommendations from his provincial metropolitan, who found that the bishop violated misconduct policies, to re-instate a fired cathedral dean and complete the last three months of his episcopate on sabbatical leave.
In a June 25 open letter, Organ rejected findings of the ecclesiastical province of Canada’s investigation into safe church complaints against him by Dean Catherine Short, who had served as dean and rector at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Corner Brook, Nfld. since 2018. Organ announced he had fired Short in a livestreamed Sunday worship speech on Jan. 19, which led to protests and the resignation of all vestry members.
Archbishop David Edwards, metropolitan of Canada (which includes dioceses in the Atlantic provinces and parts of Quebec), determined in a June 13 response to Short’s complaints that Organ had engaged in discriminatory practice in relation to the dean’s employment status, along with emotional misconduct and bullying. The metropolitan called for Organ to re-instate Short’s license to practice ministry as dean and rector of St. John the Evangelist; to apologize to the dean, congregation and diocese; and to take sabbatical leave until his previously announced resignation Oct. 1.
Organ said in his letter that the complaint against him “has taken all attention away from the conduct that gave rise to my decision and has effectively removed that conduct from any further consideration.” He called for “a fair and proper investigation that reviews the original issue and leads to the appropriate provisions to address it under the canons. Until then, I will continue to faithfully serve our beloved diocese as bishop with all the duties, responsibilities, and authority assigned.”
In his Jan. 19 speech, Organ described numerous personal conflicts with Short and accused her of, among other things, making “threatening” social media posts. He said in the speech that he would re-instate Short’s license if she took anger management training and worked within the church’s conflict resolution guidelines.
Noting in his June letter that he had not spoken publicly about the matter since, Organ said he had worked hard to achieve an agreement that would allow for a resolution. “I was prepared to accept an unfair and biased investigation and to sacrificially agree to what was being forced upon me: to re-licence and reappoint the priest in question, accept public shaming, apologize, and to retire early,” Organ said.
However, he said, that agreement fell apart when an effort was made at the last minute to change it “in such a way that would put myself and our diocese at ongoing risk.” Organ then sought independent counsel, which he said was necessary for the security of the diocese.
“With objective eyes looking at all that transpired since January, we were helped to see that this matter before us has not been impartially investigated, has been one-sided and has allowed an anger and hate campaign to determine its findings and recommendations,” Organ said.
“We cannot allow injustice to be a remedy to any perceived injustice,” he said. “Intentionally misusing canons or policies cannot be the way to correct a good faith error in using a specific canon.”
Organ did not respond to interview requests from the Anglican Journal. Archdeacon Charlene Laing declined comment when the Journal attempted to reach Organ by phone at the diocesan office.
Former parishioners call on church to enforce recommendations
In an email to Corner Brook parishioners that St. John the Evangelist member Glynda Seaborn shared with the Journal, provincial misconduct and safe church officer Jack Walsworth—who carried out the investigation into Short’s complaints—called Organ’s rejection of the complaints, investigation and metropolitan’s response “a travesty.”
“The Metropolitan’s determination is a fair and sound document,” Walsworth said. “It was based on a fair and unbiased investigation, which I conducted.”
Edwards and provincial chancellor David Bell will now decide the final outcome, he said, with the support of Canon (lay) Clare Burns, chancellor of General Synod.
Under its own Canon 5, the ecclesiastical province of Canada has the power to launch a disciplinary process against an accused person, including bishops. That process includes a trial and investigation and can take months or perhaps years, Walworth says. Meanwhile, Organ is scheduled to retire in September 2026, when he will be 70 years old—the mandatory retirement age for bishops.
Walsworth told the Anglican Journal that he personally supports using Canon 5 to launch a disciplinary process against Organ.
“This is becoming [what] I consider a very complicated problem,” Walsworth said. “The timing is part of the complication. This is the first time I’ve ever understood that such a serious situation dealing with a bishop has arisen. There are precedents being set here, which concerns me. This is partly why I feel Canon 5 should be seriously considered.”
A group of “lifelong Anglicans and former parishioners” of St. John the Evangelist, including Seaborn, sent a joint statement to Canadian Anglican leaders July 3 in response to Organ’s letter. The group, called Anglicans (and Others) For Accountability and Justice, expressed “deep disappointment and growing alarm” at Organ’s refusal to comply with the findings of the misconduct investigation, which they noted involved more than 2,500 hours of interviews, including several with Short and Organ, and “outlined serious findings of misconduct” in its 129-page report.
By not relicensing Short and defying the metropolitan’s recommendations, the group said, Organ “has expressed his intention to continue as bishop among the people and clergy he has traumatized in the past… This act of defiance is not only a rejection of due ecclesiastical process but a betrayal of the church’s responsibility to provide a safe and accountable spiritual environment.”
The former parishioners criticized the national church for not challenging Organ’s actions. “We feel the silence and inaction are totally unacceptable,” they said. “This isn’t just about church politics—it’s about safety, justice and moral Christian leadership. Now is the opportunity for the Church to prove its commitment to providing a safe environment for its clergy, laity and all employees.”
They called on the House of Bishops, the ecclesiastical province of Canada and the national church to fully enforce Edwards’ recommendations, to ensure Short is reinstated without delay, to hold Organ “publicly accountable for his defiance of the directives of his superior and for his history of abusive behaviour;” and to reaffirm their commitment to safe church policies “to restore trust in a church that claims to follow Jesus. Anything less is an affront to those who participated in this investigation in good faith.”
The Anglican Journal sought a response to the statement from senior leadership at the national church office, but had not received a response as of press time the morning of July 8.
Parishioner: Impunity shows safe church policy ‘counts for nothing’
Seaborn said Organ’s refusal to follow Edwards’ recommendations shows that safe church policy in the Anglican Church of Canada “counts for nothing and no clergy in any diocese in Canada should feel protected from its bishops by it. All bishops, because of the structure of the church and its canons, are able to defy recommendations that result from investigations into their wrongdoing and misconduct and are free to continue their damaging behaviour without fear of dismissal.”
Lack of consequences for bishops who disregard the findings of a safe church process, Seaborn said, puts church employees in a vulnerable, dangerous position and means victims or whistleblowers have little to no recourse if a bishop decides to act unilaterally or punitively.
“Because bishops control licensing and deployment, clergy are placed in a vulnerable and precarious position,” Seaborn said. “Even with protections on paper, the real power dynamic creates a culture of fear and silence.” She said the House of Bishops comprises “a closed system with limited transparency and few real checks on episcopal power.”
The situation in the diocese of Western Newfoundland, Seaborn said, confirms that existing mechanisms for redressing misconduct complaints are insufficient. It also raises the question of how many other dioceses might be facing “similar silent crises,” she said.
“There is an urgent need for reform to protect church employees and restore trust in the church’s governance… Until bishops are held to binding, enforceable standards—with independent accountability mechanisms—the safe church policy is useless,” Seaborn said.
Short told the Anglican Journal in mid-June, before Organ released his open letter, that she had been pleased by the metropolitan determining in her favour in response to her safe church complaints.
