Report: Antigay Priest Used Position to Sexually Abuse Other Men

An Anglican priest who founded his congregation on antigay dogma used his position to commit sexual abuse against numerous young men, according to a new report from an independent watchdog group.

An investigation by a group called Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, or GRACE, found that Rev. Eric Dudley of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Fla., frequently touched men in a sexual manner without their consent, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Dudley was forced to resign from the church in August 2018.

Dudley was rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, also in Tallahassee, from 1995 to 2005. He departed after announcing from the pulpit that he was leaving the Episcopal Church due to its “deeply unrepentant heresies” — specifically, the elevation of an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, to the position of bishop, a first for the denomination. He then founded St. Peter’s, which is part of the Anglican Church in North America, formed in opposition to the Episcopal Church’s acceptance of LGBTQ people. Dudley is married to a woman and the father of three.

Report: Antigay Priest Used Position to Sexually Abuse Other Men