Responding to Spiritual Leader Misconduct: A Handbook

When prevention fails and a spiritual leader violates the boundaries of a pastoral or teaching relationship, a judicatory or organization must be prepared to respond. A complaint of misconduct requires response and action. Spiritual and religious institutions have a moral responsibility to respond justly and fairly to the complainant, the spiritual leader, and the community in order to repair the brokenness and betrayal caused by misconduct. The complaint needs to be investigated and adjudicated; the community also needs support to deal with the confusion, grief, and anger in order to move towards healing and restoration.
Responding to Spiritual Leader Misconduct lays out the basic principles of analysis of misconduct in a spiritual or religious community: who, what, when, and where. It offers the principles for trauma-informed responses to complaints and the conceptual framework to navigate the process of response. The handbook is non-denominational and multifaith and not intended to represent the teachings of any particular spiritual tradition in matters of doctrine or morals.
An invaluable resource for judicatory leaders, committees, and commissions who are addressing complaints of spiritual leader misconduct. Includes extensive, comprehensive, and essential resource with reference materials, case studies, best practices, and articles by experts in the field of religious ethics.