Ohio-Based Televangelist Ernest Angley Accused of Forcing Vasectomies & Encouraging Abortions

By Julie Kent
Cleveland Leader
October 15, 2014

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/23211

Televanelist Ernest Angley of Gracey Cathedral in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, has been accused by former members of his church of demanding that they have vasectomies or abortions, and further claim that the church leader would turn a blind eye to sexual abuse in the church.

During the Akron Beacon Journal's six-part series covering the various allegations that have been made against Angley, 93, 20 former members of his congregation came forward and spoke with reporters. Members said that he not only encouraged vasectomies and abortions, but also personally examined "the genitals of the male parishioners before and after their surgeries."

One former member said, "none of us have kids because he makes all the men get fixed", and another former parishioner, Becky Roadman, said, "You're not allowed to have babies there." Others noted that Angley frequently counseled women to have abortions, and that he told at least one woman to think of her fetus as "a tumor." One woman says that she knows of another woman, who will not come forward at this time, who was forced in to four abortions.

Greg Mulkey theorizes that Angley encourages vasectomies and abortions as a way to control how congregants spent their money, and said:

“He doesn’t want people to have kids because it would take their time and money away from [the church]. He really forced people into abortions through scare tactics, as if he were a medical doctor. It turns my stomach.”

Associate pastor Brock Miller told friends and family that he left the church because Angley "violated" him for seven years. A family member of Miller's, who requested anonymity, said that Angley "had him undress and touched him all over", but added, "I don't believe he touched him on his part, but it doesn't matter." Another associate pastor, Rev. Chris Machamer, said that Miller was a "proven liar" and a drug addict, who "simply wanted to take control of the church after Rev. Angley dies."

Shane McCabe, a former church member, said that while he was a teenager, he was sexually molested by associates at the church and when he confronted Angley about it years later, he ignored the allegations. McCabe said:

“He asked if I had told anybody. I said no. He said, ‘Let’s keep it a secret. This is the way we need to handle it because God’s mercy is great.’”

When Angley was asked why he urged silence regarding sexual abuse in the church, Angley said that it could "hurt others."

Other former members of Grace Cathedral say it was just simply a cult. Pam Cable said:

Other former members stated flatly that Grace Cathedral run by Rev. Angley was a cult.

“The people in Akron, Ohio, have a Jim Jones sitting in their backyard. ... These people in his congregation would drink the Kool-Aid if he told them to. They would.”