BISHOP RUCH'S SURVIVORS BLAST ACNA'S NOT GUILTY DECISION

Complainants say acquittal is based on incomplete evidence and secrecy in a process that was irreparably flawed from the start

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue, DD

www.virtueonline.org

December 17, 2025

Survivors of sexual abuse in the trial of ACNA Bishop Stewart Ruch III say they feel "denied and crushed" by the verdict that found the bishop not guilty of multiple charges.

"It is devastatingly clear that if an abuse victim wants to report abuse in the ACNA, they must now bear the additional burden of ensuring they are not perceived as being 'captured' by narratives the ACNA deems illegitimate," they said in a statement responding to the verdict.

The trial found Ruch not guilty on four charges: habitual neglect of episcopal duties (Canon IV.2.10), conduct giving scandal including abuse of ecclesiastical power (Canon IV.2.4), violation of ordination vows (Canon IV.2.3), and disobedience to canons (Canon IV.2.9).

A Six-Year Wait for Justice

Survivors say the verdict is rife with easily refutable claims. "This verdict comes 6.5 years after Rivera's nine-year-old victim initially disclosed her sexual abuse. This girl, now 16, has waited more than a third of her life for closure from a church system and leaders that repeatedly failed her. She could not even participate in the Husch Blackwell investigation because the ACNA refused to commission an investigation that did not jeopardize her criminal case against Rivera."

The survivors honored "the courage, painful sacrifice, and tenacity of all survivors who have persistently asked for justice within the church but have been, and continue to be, denied and crushed," including many who could not or were not allowed to participate in the province's investigation.

They assert that ACNA has relegated survivors' own stories to the category of propaganda, demonstrating how the province views those it claims to protect.

Three Flawed Investigations

Bishop Ruch's trial followed three problematic investigations, according to the survivors:

The Grand River Solutions investigation did not include survivors and was quietly handed over to the Province.

The Husch Blackwell investigation excluded at least 10 Rivera survivors, did not result in a properly redacted public document, and was not permitted to include recommendations to prevent future abuse.

The Telios investigation inaccurately reported numerous interviews and concluded in secrecy. To date, no public report has been released. According to the verdict, the trial relied primarily on this undisclosed investigation.

"The drawn-out process only benefits the ACNA as an institution, not Bishop Ruch or the survivors," they stated. Both the accused and the complainants would benefit from a truly independent third-party investigation with a published public report. "It is the only way to vindicate people who are unjustly accused or faced with distorted allegations."

"An acquittal based on incomplete evidence, lies, and secrecy does not benefit Bishop Ruch. It merely confirms what many people already know: the process was irreparably flawed from the start."

Institutional Failure

The verdict sends a clear message to ACNA survivors that bishops receive special treatment, the survivors say, as the denomination remains unwilling to address abuse effectively at the institutional level. "Its decentralized governance structure and inadequate canons do not provide the authority needed for real accountability, particularly when allegations of abuse or mishandling are brought against ACNA bishops. Even the proposed changes to Title IV include dangerous provisions for survivors who might bring a presentment against a church leader."

Conflicts of Interest

The ACNA's disciplinary bodies are riddled with conflicts of interest, survivors charge. Insular relationships between clergy and bishops have repeatedly served to protect clergy instead of abuse survivors. Laity and clergy are kept uninformed yet told to trust a process that is never clearly laid out or followed. The concerns they raised have been repeatedly ignored.

"This verdict confirms survivors' fears that the ACNA will give bishops a free pass. It reassures Bishops Jones and Wood that their positions will protect them from accountability as they head into their own trials. It tells countless survivors across all 28 dioceses that the ACNA is not a safe place for them."

A Bleak Future

ACNAtoo has shared best practices from leading trauma and investigative experts on handling a church culture that enables and covers up abuse. "We've dedicated thousands of hours to educating people on abuse dynamics, church policies, canon law, and how to care for survivors around them. We've offered plenty of suggestions, but the question remains: why are leaders' hearts so hard against victims of injustice and survivors of abuse?"

"Does the ACNA actually want to learn from its mistakes and change? We don't believe that it does. Instead, this verdict is captured by the narrative Bishop Ruch and his supporters have woven since 2021, one which has worked tirelessly to undermine the voices of the powerless and divide survivors."

The survivors fear that the College of Bishops has doomed the ACNA to a speedy demise by structuring itself as "a black box of self-protecting authoritarianism." When organizations go through crises, they note, two camps tend to emerge: those who want to ensure that the trauma doesn't happen again to others, and those who want to ensure the trauma of the crisis doesn't happen again to themselves.

"Despite the good intentions of Title IV revisions, the canons still prevent lay people from participating at every level of Anglican governance and solidify bishops as gatekeepers of investigations and trials."

The survivors concluded that the verdict mocks the One who raises up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things.

END