Several changes tighten the timeline of Title IV, creating 45-day windows for different phases and requiring that the entire process, “absent extraordinary circumstances,” be completed within 15 months. Other resolutions clarify the scope of the intake officers’ inquiry and limit the discretion of the church attorney, who can no longer unilaterally determine that a Title IV process should not go forward. A resolution about mechanisms for responding to lay leaders’ misconduct was referred to the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons, as was a proposal that requested the formation of a task force that would offer major revisions to Title IV.
New language also indicates that a pastoral response is a legitimate outcome of the Title IV process, rather than a nonresponse.
“I do like the language change,” said Douglas, who said a pastoral response can include everything from psychological evaluations to coaching and enforced sabbaticals. “Of the five choices of a reference panel, the choice ‘no other action except appropriate pastoral response’ kind of sounded like it was dropped, that there would not be care and concern. … But really, pastoral response was often very substantial.”
Some who have reported allegations against Episcopal clergy say piecemeal changes to Title IV are unsatisfactory.
Since going public last June with allegations of physical and emotional abuse against their father, Bishop Prince Singh, who has since resigned, Nivedhan and Eklan Singh, along with their mother, Roja Suganthy-Singh, have criticized the Title IV process. They say church officials failed to launch Title IV protocols in response to their allegations, then delayed providing pastoral care and were insensitive to their trauma in interviews. They also alleged that those assigned to their case had conflicts of interest.
Nivedhan Singh and Roja Suganthy-Singh told RNS that, while the updates to Title IV tackle some of their concerns about promptness and transparency, larger changes are needed.
“In our experience, (Title IV) obfuscates, confuses, ignores, mishandles, retraumatizes, and berates, all under the guise of ‘reconciliation’ with those it harms,” Nivedhan Singh wrote in an email. “Justice for us and others in similar situations requires a commitment to deep, structural reform and a willingness to hold all members of the clergy accountable, regardless of their position.”
Nivedhan Singh and Suganthy-Singh called for sweeping reforms, including mandatory Title IV training for all clergy and church leaders, educational programs on Title IV for people at all levels of the church, clear and consistent consequences for clergy found guilty of misconduct, third-party investigators and immediate pastoral care for those who file complaints.
Other observers, such as the Young Adult Caucus of General Convention, which in September published a statement citing “grave concerns” about Title IV, told RNS they were pleased with the changes made and glad to see many of their proposals become Acts of the Convention.
“We look forward to seeing further progress on the question of a church-wide Title IV intake officer, and ensuring that Bishops and all those involved in the Title IV process are better trained on their Canonical responsibilities,” the group wrote in a statement to RNS. “We haven’t fixed Title IV at GC81, but we have taken significant steps forward to creating a better system, and we look forward to working closely with Deputies and Bishops to continue this work during the Triennium and beyond.”
This article originally appeared here.
