Home Christian News Three Members of ACNA Response Team Resign From Overseeing Abuse Investigation

Three Members of ACNA Response Team Resign From Overseeing Abuse Investigation

“The narrative that has been put forward on social media is that online advocates have been speaking on behalf of all survivors. It’s far more complicated than that,” said Gross. “Of the survivors known to us, some have been engaged online and others have preferred to speak to us confidentially, but they have often wanted different things. The Provincial Response Team has been working with all the survivors who’ve been willing to come forward.”

ACNAtoo would like to see the firm’s legal commitments written into the letter of engagement between ACNA and Husch Blackwell. ACNAtoo is also continuing to ask ACNA to waive attorney-client privilege.

“One of the biggest concerns off the bat is the province’s direct refusal to waive attorney-client privilege,” said Whitney Harrison, who was part of the Upper Midwest Diocese for nine years and is also an ACNAtoo advocate. “That is one of the key things that will enable our survivors to be able to feel safe engaging with the investigation.”

ACNA has said it will not waive attorney-client privilege because it wants to “maintain confidentiality and protect the stories and testimonies of all those who have participated in this process to date.” However, ACNAtoo says it’s possible to both waive attorney-client privilege and maintain the confidentiality of alleged abuse survivors.

“Every reputable investigative firm is trained and equipped to publicly protect the stories and testimonies of all participants,” said Abbi Nye, an ACNAtoo advocate who was part of ACNA’s Upper Midwest Diocese for 17 years. “This is Independent Investigation 101. The waiving of attorney-client privilege has absolutely nothing to do with survivor confidentiality.”

Adam Horowitz, a sexual abuse attorney based in Florida who has litigated dozens of clergy abuse cases in the Catholic Church, said attorney-client privilege only applies to the communications between an attorney and the attorney’s client, which in this case is ACNA. While communication with alleged survivors may be confidential, it isn’t affected by attorney-client privilege, because survivors are not the clients.

Gross said it’s an “open question” whether new members will be added to the Provincial Response Team. Now that the investigative firm has been hired, the team is largely responsible for coordinating care for survivors, he said.

This article originally appeared here.