January 25th 2025.
The Reverend Henry Curran found himself in a rather awkward situation when he walked into the bathroom and discovered a member of his congregation in the nude. However, instead of immediately leaving, he decided to stay and address the situation. This incident, along with others, led to a disciplinary tribunal held by the Church of England.
It seems that Reverend Curran had been trying to promote a more relaxed view on nudity within his parish, but his efforts were met with disapproval. According to one female parishioner, she had conversations with the priest about nudity but never felt pressured to be naked in front of him. The tribunal looked into eight allegations of misconduct that occurred between 2009 and 2021 during Reverend Curran's time at St Mary's Wollaton Park in Nottingham, which is located next to the University of Nottingham.
The tribunal found that Reverend Curran's behavior was controlling and lacked self-control. He also failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries. Despite these findings, the tribunal decided against removing him from his position and instead ordered him to undergo counseling and training on ethics. Reverend Curran, who became an ordained priest in 2003, was on a family holiday in the Lake District in 2016 when a parishioner joined them. During the trip, he entered the bathroom to retrieve something he had forgotten, but the parishioner invited him in while they were showering. He did not leave, which was later brought up as a separate allegation.
The tribunal also concluded that Reverend Curran had not maintained appropriate boundaries with a female parishioner by allowing nudity in his home. In her witness statement, the woman explained that they had conversations about nudity, which helped her feel less anxious in situations such as changing rooms. She emphasized that she was comfortable with it and was not expected to be naked in front of the reverend. It was simply about having a more relaxed and less sexualized approach to nudity, like sleeping naked or getting changed in front of someone else.
The investigation also revealed that Reverend Curran had difficulty controlling his anger and had a tendency to have outbursts. In one instance, during a church council meeting about Christmas services, he became so angry that he hit his hand on the table. A student who was present at the meeting was deeply affected by this outburst and had to leave to compose themselves. In another incident in 2009, Reverend Curran sent a text to a female student and parishioner who had left the church, saying that he was considering suicide. This prompted the police to be called, and it was discovered that he had driven a two-hour journey and parked near where she was.
The tribunal acknowledged that Reverend Curran had failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with his parishioners, whether it be as lodgers, during holidays, or in meetings. They also noted that his behavior and views on nudity showed a lack of understanding of the professional relationship between him and his parishioners. However, they ultimately decided not to remove him from his position, but instead ordered him to undergo counseling for anger management and training on maintaining professional boundaries. He will also have a senior cleric overseeing his ministry for the next two years. The Bishop of Gloucester also requested that he step back from his ministry in December 2022 until the complaints have been resolved.
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