As the various lawsuits move forward against Grace Episcopal Alexandria, perjuring priest Bob Malm, and members of the Malm family, there’s an important fact to remember. Specifically, the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Susan Goff, and Shannon Johnston have been directly notified of Bob Malm’s perjury, but have consistently responded by engaging in coverup.
The situation is much like the situation in the Catholic Church, in which the hierarchy has shown itself more concerned with protecting the status quo than protecting those abused by the church.
It’s also worth remembering how egregious perjuring priest Bob Malm’s conduct is, including:
- Repeatedly lying under oath.
- Trying to drag Mom, terminally ill and dying of COPD, into court, in violation of the law.
- Forcing Mike out of church, who had been received into TEC just 16 months earlier.
- His outrageous and outlandish claims that blogging is somehow a form of “domestic terrorism.”
- His repeated fabrications in his court pleadings, including claiming that I was never licensed as at attorney and never served as a police officer.
This fall, as you consider pledging, keep in mind that this is a church and denomination in which the behavior described above is okay, and the ethical standard to which clergy is held requires a criminal conviction first.
In short, until the diocese agrees to hold Bob Malm accountable, it is time to withhold your financial and other support.
Nor does saying, “Well, I don’t want to get involved,” cut it. Jesus welcomed the outsider, the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized. He hated when religion was used to oppress others.
Thus, Jesus would have hated Bob Malm’s conduct, that of the parish, and that of the diocese. And he would have hated anything that encouraged or allowed that conduct.
Again, it’s time to withhold support for Grace Episcopal, the clergy perjury parish.
