On Sunday, March 3rd, members of the Catholic Accountability Project (CAP) passed out flyers at St. Stephen the Martyr in Renton providing mass attendees with more information about a recent case of misconduct in their parish.

Last December, Archbishop Étienne of Seattle sent a letter to parishioners of St. Stephens informing the congregation that their Parochial Vicar, Rev. Arulanandam Robert Antony, had been removed from ministry due to a violation of the Code of Conduct. Antony, a member of India-based Heralds of the Good News (HGN) was the second member of HGN removed from St. Stephens in the past few years for violation of the Safe Environment Code. Father Jockim Xavier Dasan had been previously removed because he was found to have “violated ministerial boundaries.” In both cases, the Archdiocese of Seattle stopped their sponsorship of the priests’ visas, resulting in their return to India. 

HGN is a Missionary Society of Apostolic Life founded in 1984. The aim of the society is to train and provide priests to “dioceses in India and abroad which experience a shortage of priests due to the lack of local vocations”.

In a conversation outside St. James Cathedral in Seattle on Ash Wednesday, Étienne told clergy abuse survivors and advocates that Antony is currently under canonical investigation, information that was not shared with St. Stephens last December. 

(See full video of interaction below)

A canonical investigation is initiated when a bishop refers an allegation of misconduct that meets a level of credibility and seriousness requiring an investigation to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Étienne told survivors and activists that the misconduct did not involve abuse of a child, but when asked if it involved the abuse of a vulnerable adult, he refused to answer.

St. Stephens parishioners and Seattle-area Catholics deserve to know if the “misconduct” referenced in Étienne’s letter is the only allegation against Antony. Was the misconduct reported to local law enforcement? If so, was it reported before Antony returned to India?

When Étienne was confronted by members of CAP regarding subpoenas that were sent to the three Catholic dioceses in Washington State for abuse-related documents and evidence last August, he would not confirm if the archdiocese had cooperated with the Office of the Attorney General.

CAP is urging St. Stephens parishioners and Seattle-area Catholics to call the Archdiocese of Seattle Safe Environment Program at 206-382-4285 to register complaints and request additional information.