Anglican Church's national bishop to Indigenous members resigns over 'acknowledged' sexual misconduct
CBC
Rev. Mark MacDonald, the Anglican Church of Canada's first national Indigenous archbishop, has resigned over what the church is calling "acknowledged" sexual misconduct.
"This is devastating news. The sense of betrayal is deep and profound when leaders fail to live up to the standards we expect and the boundaries we set," wrote Rev. Linda Nicholls, the church's archbishop and primate, in an open letter published on Wednesday.
Nicholls cites a complainant against MacDonald in the letter but no further details about the allegations have been provided by the church.
"First and most importantly, our prayers must be for the complainant whose life has been affected by Mark's actions. The betrayal of trust by someone in such a prominent role of leadership will require a long road of healing and our constant prayers," the letter continues.
A spokesperson for the church declined an interview request from CBC News and said it would not provide any further comment about MacDonald's resignation.
MacDonald, 68, was named the church's first national Indigenous Anglican bishop in 2007, a post which makes him pastoral leader to approximately 225 Indigenous churches, most of them on reserves.
He was elevated to archbishop in 2019.
A biography on the church's website said he served as a minister in Mississauga, Ont., Duluth, Minn., Tomah, Wis., Mauston, Wis., Portland, Ore., and the southeast regional mission of the Diocese of Navajoland during his career.
MacDonald is a graduate of Wycliffe College, a Christian evangelical seminary at the University of Toronto.
A 2013 article posted by the Anglican Journal, the national newspaper of the Anglican Church of Canada, described MacDonald as a "non-status Indian" with Indigenous ancestry through both his mother and father. The article also says he "grew up among the [Ojibwe] people."
The Anglican Church has named Bishop Sidney Black to serve as its interim national Indigenous bishop.
According to polling by the Environics Institute, 70 per cent of Canadians are either very or somewhat satisfied with "the way democracy works in Canada."
A plan to partially demolish a 139-year-old church has set off an uproar in a Cabbagetown neighbourhood.
A 33-year-old man has died after being shot by police in Brantford, Ont., Friday morning, the province's police watchdog says.
A Whitehorse resident says gaps in the hospital system are affecting continuity of care – and he has 2,000 pages of documentation to prove it.
A Newfoundland and Labrador judge postponed a decision Friday about whether a man charged with three attempted murders is fit to stand trial, in a case where the accused's family says the health-care system failed him and his alleged victims.
A doctor in Nova Scotia's Pictou County has been handed a professional reprimand for the way he treated a 30-year-old woman who died after being admitted to the Aberdeen Regional Hospital in New Glasgow, N.S., in August 2023.
Some New Brunswick fishermen are breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of a trade deal announced Friday between Canada and China.
A person infected with measles landed at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport on Jan. 8 after flying with Air Canada, Quebec’s Health Ministry announced in a news release Friday.
A junior officer arrested alongside a now-disgraced Winnipeg police constable after the pair stole cash and other items they believed to be evidence during a 2024 "integrity test" has pleaded guilty.
The woman whose car was used to take Taya Sinclair to the Saskatoon house where she was killed says she was trying to help Sinclair.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had a front-row seat to a trade deal with China that he says marks a "positive day" for Canadian agriculture.
WARNING: This story contains graphic details of a homicide.
Prince Edward Island's lobster industry is breathing a sigh of relief after the federal government announced Canada’s new deal with China, which is expected to eliminate tariffs on lobsters and crab products exported from this country, as well as lower tariffs on Canadian canola.