BishopAccountability.org
	Living Beatitudes Community Statement 4-24-11 St. Junia the Apostle Chapel April 29, 2011 http://stjuniatheapostle.blogspot.com/2011/04/living-beatitudes-community-statement-4.html [article from the Dayton Daily News] The Living Beatitudes Community released this statement today from its president, Pamela Dolence: "The Living Beatitudes Community is a small, informal group of Christians in the Catholic tradition. Recently the role of Ellis Harsham, a laicized Catholic priest with a credible allegation of sexual misconduct in his past, in leading worship once a month has led to questions about our policies and procedures regarding misconduct. "On the evening of April 15, a former member of Living Beatitudes brought Mr. Harsham's history to the attention of a Living Beatitudes leader. Although some of our members had been aware of allegations against Mr. Harsham, it was not until our community's leaders began to investigate the complaint that we formally learned from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati that there is a substantiated claim of sexual abuse against him. Our board met on the morning of April 17 to address this issue. Mr. Harsham will no longer serve as a worship leader. "As Living Beatitudes Community transitions from being a house church to a more organized religious community, we realize that we must put safe church procedures and training in place to ensure that we adhere to DignityUSA's policy and keep everyone in our midst safe. On April 20, our board met to begin that work, which we take very seriously and intend to complete quickly. We are grateful for this wake-up call, especially because we believe it came without harm being done to any children in our community. "As we work to put appropriate procedures and training in place, we ask for prayers for our community." A few initial comments: --The statement neglects to mention LBC's legal identity as Dignity Dayton, a chapter of the national ministry Dignity USA. It also misleadingly refers to him as Mr. Ellis Harsham when he refers to himself as Father (Christ the King mass, Nov. 21 2010) and he and other male priests serving there ordained by the Roman Catholic Church are sometimes addressed as such by members and visitors (including Dignity President Mark Matson during his January visit). He has been serving as a priest, along with Fr. Dick Young and Fr. Tom Stricker who appear to have been complicit in the coverup--at LBC/DD for ten years and most members undoubtedly continue to see him this way. --I will attempt to learn the precise meaning of the statement that Fr. Ellis Harsham will no longer serve as a worship leader. The Dayton Daily News article which reported his resignation referred only to the narrower position of Eucharistic Presider, or principal celebrant/presider at mass. This would leave him eligible to serve as a co-presider or assistant to the principal presider, a preacher, and/or cantor, all of which are official worship leadership functions for which a substantiated history of sexual abuse should disqualify anyone. --Also, if Harsham continues to worship in a lay capacity at LBC/Dignity Dayton the usual procedures in reputable worshipping communities must be followed. First, there must be public disclosure of the extensive and credible allegations which is available to all community members and visitors to both LBC and Christ Episcopal Church, in whose basement they worship and whose member and visitor children remain at risk. I am still waiting to receive a copy of the email which the Rev. John Paddock sent to his members about the situation and as of today there has been no public statement at the CEC's website or blog. Second, there must be strict guidelines about his contact with children, whereabouts, etc.--especially because there are some joint functions between Christ Episcopal and LBC, and free access between the worship and social spaces of the two communities at all times.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.