Sex Offender No Longer a Priest, Anglican Church Says

The Record
January 31, 2014

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4346365-sex-offender-no-longer-a-priest-anglican-church-says/

Convicted sex offender George Ferris is no longer an Anglican priest.

The Cambridge man has been sentenced to five-and-a-half-years in prison for three sexual assaults on teenage boys in the 1980s and 1990s.

The retired minister from Cambridge was most recently in court in Brantford on Wednesday, when he was sentenced on two charges. He was found not guilty of one count of sexual exploitation of a young person.

Ferris has now been stripped of his title of priest.

Reverend Robert Bennett, of the Anglican Diocese of Huron, disciplined Ferris on Thursday, a church press release says.

Ferris is guilty of an ecclesiastical offence and has been deposed, the church says.

"Ordained ministry is a privilege granted by Christ's Church to care for God's people," Bishop Bennett said.

"When that privilege is abused, it is my responsibility as a bishop in the church to take action. Pray for peace and healing for all."

Ferris, 66, served at St. James' Anglican Church on Ellis Road in Cambridge for about nine years until his retirement at the end of 2010. He served as interim priest at St. James' Anglican Church in Ingersoll in 2011.

He was also at Renison University College in Waterloo for a decade, in roles including chaplain, director of alumni and development, and director of residences