Update: Since this article was originally published, the Corporation of Christ Church Cathedral—its rector and wardens—has issued the following statement:
In view of a recent online publication in the Anglican Journal, the Corporation of Christ Church Cathedral confirms that in 2020-21, during the pandemic, there was a workplace dispute between our Director of Music at the time, Dr Jonathan White, and Corporation. All issues raised were investigated, resolved and closed.
The Corporation intends to respect the terms of the agreement signed by both parties, which do not allow for any discussion of details.
The Rev. Deborah Meister, associate priest of the cathedral and one of the candidates for election, was on the cathedral staff at the time of this dispute but told the Anglican Journal she was not involved in it. Another candidate who was and remains on staff, Dean of Montreal Bertrand Olivier, told the Journal there was nothing he could add to the statement, of which he himself, as rector of the cathedral, was a signatory.
Controversy surrounds electoral synod after search committee members resign
Bishop Mary Irwin-Gibson has corrected a previously reported statement that no formal complaints have been made against any of the candidates nominated to succeed her as bishop of Montreal after being asked by the Journal about a harassment complaint made against at least one of them in 2020.
The diocese’s electoral synod is slated for May 3. A March 28 Anglican Journal article reported that Irwin-Gibson stood by the election process and that the bishop said no one had made a formal safe church complaint against the candidates. The article sparked an outcry from a previous diocesan employee who said he had submitted a formal written complaint to the bishop against “one or more” candidates.
Jonathan White, currently director of music at Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, submitted a harassment complaint Nov. 30, 2020 under the safe church policy of the diocese of Montreal. At that time, White was director of music at Montreal’s Christ Church Cathedral. Irwin-Gibson chose to orally reprimand the respondents of the complaint for the misconduct investigators determined had taken place.
White subsequently appealed. In February 2021, Irwin-Gibson wrote a letter to White’s lawyer in response to the appeal, in which the bishop said she saw no new evidence or grounds to revise her earlier decision. The Anglican Journal obtained from White and read a copy of this letter, though the names of the “respondents” it mentions who were the subject of the complaint were redacted.
White would not reveal the names of the candidate or candidates he had made complaints about or even specify the number, having signed, he said, a non-disclosure agreement. “I can’t say anything about who the complaint was against or what it was, but I don’t think it’s a problem for me to say that a complaint was made about one or more candidates to the bishop,” he said.
In an April 9 follow-up interview, Irwin-Gibson told the Anglican Journal, “I should have said to you that I had no unresolved formal complaints.” She says diocesan staff advised her that the November 2020 complaint was “a private matter that was settled between the parties.” The November 2020 complaint, Irwin-Gibson says, “was a workplace dispute and it came to its formal conclusion,” adding that this does not make anyone ineligible to be elected bishop.
Four of nine members of the search committee to nominate episcopal candidates resigned March 10, including the chair. The committee cited concerns over safe church policy and “the integrity of the ballot.” On March 21, the diocesan council released a note of clarification that stated: “The role of the search committee is not to endorse any candidates, but rather to confirm that they have been vetted and that the candidates meet all requirements, which the search committee has done.”
White says he also is concerned about the integrity of the episcopal election process. “Personally, I don’t really see how this process can continue as it stands,” White says. “I feel that the only way they’re going to deal with this now is either to be completely transparent about everything, ask the candidates with issues to withdraw, or start the whole thing all over again.
“It could be that the person who gets elected has got nothing to answer for, but they’ll still have that shadow hanging over their heads constantly. They can’t come out afterwards and say, oh no, it wasn’t them. No one’s going to believe them anyway now.”
Irwin-Gibson, however, says she has no concerns about the integrity of the process. “I think that we have got a fairly robust set of applications, both interviews and paper… Voters need to do their homework and read and watch, and we will then pray for the Holy Spirit to lead this and guide us.”
In their report included in the convening circular for the electoral synod, the search committee acknowledges concerns about “the need for further refinement and clarity within our safe church policy”.
In the Journal’s March 28 report, Irwin-Gibson said diocesan safe church policies are always evolving, but added, “I don’t think there are problems with our current safe church policy.” In her April 9 interview, she said the diocese of Montreal is committing to updating its safe church policy and has already formed a committee to do so.
The diocesan council will review safe church policy after the episcopal election, the bishop said. James Pratt, chair of the search committee, told the Journal that committee members have been invited to take part in these discussions.
“We are committed to doing better and to having a church that is safe for the vulnerable sector particularly and safe for employees and volunteers as well,” Irwin-Gibson says.
