Church of Ireland Bishop Candidate had affair, declines appointment
Moderates and Evangelicals shocked by revelations.
He would have been the first divorced and remarried priest to become a bishop
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
May 1, 2013
NOTE TO ALL VOL READERS: This story first appeared on April 26 but was removed under threat of legal action because of the use of the word "adultery". The more appropriate words should have been "inappropriate relationship" or "affair". The story has been amended and includes the priest's renunciation of the appointment following the release of this story and stories that appeared in the Irish News.
A priest who was to be consecrated a bishop in the Church of Ireland had an "inappropriate relationship" with a woman after being divorced from his first wife, has declined the appointment. The revelations came to light while on his honeymoon with his second wife. The woman in question is a now a priest in the Church of Ireland.The 53-year old Venerable Leslie Stevenson was elected the new Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare. He is currently the Rector of Portarlington, Co Laois. He has served in the diocese for over 13 years. In 2009, he was appointed as archdeacon - a senior post within Church of Ireland dioceses - by his bishop, Dr. Richard Clarke. His election to the rank of bishop was announced recently following a half-day meeting in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral of an electoral college.
Stevenson was due to be ordained May 1 but he declined his appointment as Bishop of Meath & Kildare.
Archdeacon Stevenson stated to the clergy of the Dioceses of Meath & Kildare: 'I am honoured to have been elected Bishop of Meath and Kildare and appreciate the support and goodwill offered to me by many people from the dioceses and the wider Church of Ireland over recent months.
"My positive concern for the Church, to which I remain loyal, now leads me to decline the appointment. I wish to broaden and deepen my ministry in the parish and diocese in which I have been called to serve."
The Irish News revealed the scandalous behavior of Stevenson even as smiling pictures of Stevenson and the Archbishop of Dublin were portrayed in newspapers. Despite these revelations, having been nominated, "Archdeacon Stevenson allowed his name to go forward to the House of Bishops for ratification," said a statement.
Stevenson admitted having an "inappropriate relationship with a parishioner in a previous parish" which led to him stepping down for a period of 6 months from ministry before being appointed to a parish, in a different diocese, by the now primate of All Ireland Richard Clarke. In the row that followed, Stevenson left the parish, resigning in January 1999. He returned to full-time parish work several months later in Portarlington in the Dioceses of Meath & Kildare where he is due to be consecrated as bishop next week.
An article by William Scholes in the Irish News ran a headline, Church of Ireland bishops arrogant over affair scandal "The Church of Ireland thought it could make bishop a man who had once had to resign from a parish because he had an affair with a female parishioner... by confirming his nomination they left Mr Stevenson vulnerable to exactly what happened - the story coming out and he being forced to consider his position."
Sources in Ireland told VOL that Bishop Alan Abernethy was the rector of the neighboring parish when Stevenson's divorce and affair broke and he had to pick up the pieces. "They knew all about Stevenson's behavior but did not share this information with the House of Bishops when they gave assent.
There was also grassroots anger with the House of Bishops. It confirmed Mr. Stevenson's nomination despite knowing that Mr. Stevenson's authority to be a senior pastor would likely be disputed.
The House of Bishops includes three bishops with detailed knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his departure from Donaghadee-Bishop of Down & Dromore, Harold Miller, under whose auspices Mr. Stevenson resigned in 1999; Bishop of Conner Alan Abernethy, who at the time of the affair was rector in the nearby parish of Ballyholme in Bangor and involved in healing its pastoral fallout; and Dr. Clarke, in whose Meath & Kildoare Diocese Mr. Stevenson was restored to ministry.Sources told VOL that "rank and file clergy were very upset. The shocking thing is that Stevenson has shown no signs of repentance. He said he went through a period of personal discipline which is a bit like giving up chocolate for Lent. The woman he had an "inappropriate relationship" with, Tracey McRoberts is rector of St. Matthew's in the Shankill area of Belfast."
Another source told VOL that both moderates and conservatives were alarmed by this news. "This information was known by the present Primate of the Church of Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, Richard Clark. He was also the diocesan bishop when this happened. His suitability is now being questioned."
One outraged priest told VOL that Stevenson played down the relationship saying that it should not have happened in a parish context. "It should not have happened in any context - he had a relationship with a parishioner whose marriage he was supposed to be helping, ending the affair a few days before he himself got remarried. This is mind blowing and shows a degree of shamelessness we have not seen before."
[GJ - These people have not experienced WELS, where murdering church workers are defended and a district elected their top official for 20 years, knowing he molested girls in his parish. The grown up victims finally put him in the Big House in Sioux Falls.]
Disquiet has been growing since the end of January when Dr. Clarke nominated Mr. Stevenson to succeed him, and not merely because he could become the Church of Ireland's first divorced and remarried bishop.
According to The Irish News as news of the 53-year-old's appointment spread, lay people and clergy familiar with the circumstances surrounding his resignation from Donaghadee began questioning his suitability for assuming high office in the Church.
As with doctors and their patients, allowing a relationship to develop with someone - a cleric - is pasturing is regarded as a serious breach of trust, reported The News.
"Different groups have in the past raised concerns both publicly and privately concerning the moral behavior of clergy. Informal discussions have taken place concerning this matter and we would expect to issue a joint statement after the meeting," reported the News.
It is with some irony that a press release from the Church of Ireland concerning marriage "continues to uphold its teaching that marriage is part of God's creation and a holy mystery in which one man and one woman become one flesh ... The Church of Ireland affirms, according to our Lord's teaching that marriage is in its purpose a union permanent and life-long, for better or worse, till death do them part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side ... The Church of Ireland recognizes for itself and of itself, no other understanding of marriage.'
This week the Northern Ireland Assembly will debate 'same-sex marriage' legislation in the legislative Assembly. "How ironic with what has just been revealed about the bishop elect for Meath and Kildare," said a source. The electoral college for Meath and Kildare has been called for May 28.
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