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	Hepworth Rejects Rebuff from US Clergy By Rebecca Puddy The Australian September 26, 2011 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/hepworth-rejects-rebuff-from-us-clergy/story-e6frg6nf-1226146956522 A CHURCH leader who says three Catholic priests raped him as a young man has rebuffed calls for his resignation by his clergy in the United States. A resolution was unanimously passed in a meeting of the Anglican Church in America calling for the Adelaide-based primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth, to resign on the grounds he was not representing the desires of his global flock. As the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion, he has pushed forward with reunification of the breakaway Christian religion with the Catholic Church. The Traditional Anglican Communion is a breakaway Anglican movement of 400,000 worshippers, formed in 1991, which separated itself from Anglican churches over a number of issues, including the ordination of women. The Weekend Australian revealed three weeks ago claims by Archbishop Hepworth that the Adelaide Archdiocese of the Catholic Church had failed to proceed in a timely manner with an investigation in to allegations he was raped by a Catholic priest nearly 50 years ago. The Melbourne Archdiocese has accepted similar allegations by Archbishop Hepworth of rape by two priests while he was a seminarian, earning him an unreserved apology and $75,000 compensation. Archbishop Hepworth told ABC radio this morning he still had the support of his church and the Vatican to proceed with negotiations. "Nine years ago, when I became the primate, I wrote to the then Cardinal Ratzinger who headed the CDF, which is where unity takes place, and said that if I ever became an obstacle through my personal circumstances or background, then understand that I will step aside," Archbishop Hepworth said. "Now, at the moment, the Vatican isn't saying that to me, they're saying to me the opposite, to keep going as you are." He said calls for his resignation by the Anglican Church in America House of Clergy were spurred on by church politics and the ongoing public spat with the Adelaide Archdiocese over the rape investigation. He said there had been a split within the TAC in America, with some members preferring not to unify with the Catholic Church. "In England, Canada and Australia, we're going ahead with some careful planning and we hope our people will become involved early in the New Year," he said. "In the US there's been a bit of a split and this group, as far as I can see, are the ones who have decided not to go with the Pope's offer at this stage." "Naturally those not going in to the unity at this stage, would prefer a primate who wasn't going in to it either." Despite this, he said he was "quite unmoved" and would proceed with negotiations with the Vatican. "The religious scene in the US is one of constant ferment, just like politics in the US," he said. "At this stage I take it seriously, I'll be talking to my fellow bishops in the US once it's Monday there."
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