Check it Out: Perjury’s Okay for Episcopal Clergy as Long as They’re Not Convicted

Recently, I again contacted the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia about Episcopal priest Bob Malm’s lies under oath. Among other things, he falsely stated under oath that my mother, or someone claiming to be her, contacted him repeatedly. This simply didn’t happen, and it should be an easy matter to pull emails or phone records to confirm that my mother, dying of COPD and very frail, never contacted Bob. Nor did anyone contact Bob claiming to be mom. It simply didn’t happen.

But rather than investigate, the diocese says it won’t touch the matter absent a criminal conviction. Guess that extends to rape, child abuse, robbery, embezzlement and murder. It’s all okay as long as there’s no conviction.

And for the record, nothing in church canons requires complainants to maintain confidentiality. But the diocese did violate church canons requiring that it withhold my identity to the respondent.

My takeaway: The Episcopal Church is seriously screwed up.