NEWS PROVIDED BY
Anglican Watch
Sept. 22, 2025
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 22, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — The Episcopal Church’s leading church watchdog group is calling for the resignations of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue rector, The Rev. Carl Turner, and vicar Matthew Moretz. Additionally, the group seeks the resignation of New York Bishop Matthew Heyd.
Anglican Watch, the church’s unofficial watchdog, is requesting the resignations following news that the church and various named individuals, including Diocese of New York Bishop Matthew Heyd, are being sued for over allegations of sexual assault and defamation per se. The suit alleges that, in response to the victim’s complaints of sexual assault, St. Thomas Church and the Diocese responded by retaliating against the alleged victim by barring him from the church and engaging in a defamatory smear campaign.
Now, roughly nine months later, Turner and the parish are finally taking the allegations seriously, but only after the filing of the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, one of the alleged assailants, Fr. Mark Schultz, remained in active ministry until a few days ago, despite having been arrested by the New York Police Department over these allegations.
“Both St. Thomas rector Carl Turner and vicar Matthew Moretz have had actual knowledge of these issues for almost nine months, but did nothing to address them. Additionally, both have engaged in retaliation, including an outrageous smear campaign directed at the victim,” says Anglican Watch official Eric Bonetti.
“Now, Turner dares to send an email to the parish, claiming that maintaining a safe church environment is ‘of paramount importance.’ But actions speak louder than words, and Turner and Moretz are abusing the victim and trying to discredit him — after ignoring the matter for almost nine months” Bonetti continues.
“We therefore call on Turner and Moretz, and the St. Thomas wardens and vestry, to immediately resign. Similarly, bishop diocesan Matthew Heyd needs to resign.
“There is no excuse for the behavior we have seen coming from Turner and Moretz, and the fact that Schultz is openly gay and married to one of the other alleged perpetrators does not give him a pass. We will not tolerate abuse in the Episcopal Church,” concludes Bonetti.
Founded in 2015, Anglican Watch is the unofficial watchdog of the Episcopal Church. The organization addresses sexual and non-sexual abuse in the Episcopal Church and other faith communities.
SOURCE Anglican Watch
CONTACT: Eric Bonetti, 240-380-2567, eric@anglicanwatch.com