NEWS PROVIDED BY
Anglican Watch
Jan. 19, 2026
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 19, 2026 /Standard Newswire/ — Anglican Watch, the leading unofficial watchdog for the Episcopal Church, today called on leaders across the Episcopal Church to honor MLK Jr. by actively opposing human rights violations in the United States. These abuses include the routine violation of constitutional rights, among them the rights of peaceful protest and free speech, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” says Anglican Watch official Mark Lowen.
“Today, we remember those prophetic words, even as we recall Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s call to action, ‘Once the church of presidents, The Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance.’
“We therefore ask: How can Sean Rowe and many bishops of the Episcopal church sit in silence as others are tear-gassed while peacefully protesting? When homes are raided without judicial warrants? When ICE agents unlawfully detain American citizens? When the federal government openly invokes the images and language of the Third Reich? When free speech is trampled under the guise of law and order?
“I want to make very clear: This is not about politics, left versus right, or any issue beyond respecting the dignity of every human being. Sean Rowe and the bishops of the Episcopal Church must end their silence and speak out against hatred, xenophobia, injustice, and oppression in all its forms,” Lowen adds.
‘The time to act is now. The church cannot stand idly by as American democracy shudders in the face of totalitarianism. We cannot be complicit.
“If we do not act now, the time may soon come when we no longer can resist the forces of evil. We must not allow fear to lead us into complacency,” Lowen concludes.
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: Mark Lowen, 240-331-6977, eric@anglicanwatch.com