An Australian bishop has been ordered to resign his holy orders or be deposed, by May 1, after he secretly wed a woman he had ordained as priest.
The Rt. Rev. Keith Dalby, bishop of The Murray diocese in South Australia, has been suspended since February 2024, after the truth about his relationship with the Reverend Alison Dutton emerged in their diocese and the local press.
The Australian church’s Episcopal Standards Commission ruling said the bishop had failed to disclose their August 2023 marriage “at a civil ceremony in clandestine circumstances” until four months after it occurred, and over a period of eight months “while romantically involved with Ms Dutton, he participated in decisions involving her advancement in the diocese without disclosing that relationship”.
From March 2023 until December of that year, when the truth became known, Dutton was appointed as curate and assistant priest in two parishes, and ordained to the priesthood by Dalby, 10 days before they wed.
The Murray’s diocesan council (the standing committee of its synod) unanimously requested the bishop’s resignation in December 2023. He refused.
The ESC found that not only had Bishop Dalby concealed the true nature of the relationship, he had “made statements … that he would ‘punish’ those who opposed his views and also vented his anger towards others by belittling them.”
“Such is his breach of trust that Bishop Dalby is not fit to continue to hold the office of bishop,” the ESC report concluded.
Bishop Dalby had argued that their relationship had evolved over time, and struggled with when and how to disclose it “in circumstances of significant diocesan tension, rumours and intense scrutiny”.
It was not, he said, “a calculated scheme of deception but a failure of judgment,” the ESC report said.
The Australian Primate, Bishop Mark Short, said, “The board found that Bishop Dalby’s conduct clearly breached his ordination and consecration vows of honesty, fidelity, and integrity and that there had been a fundamental erosion of trust and confidence between the laity and clergy of The Murray and Bishop Dalby.”
In a statement after the finding, Bishop Dalby said he would respond within the required timeframe. A request for review of the finding may be possible.
The bishop said he accepted the seriousness of the commission’s findings, but considered the judgment “harsh and inappropriate”.
He expressed deep regret for the impact his actions on the diocese’s clergy and laypeople, and asked for their forgiveness, and “trust that our merciful God will continue to lead us toward reconciliation and healing”.
Dalby, 65 this year, had separated from his first wife in 2021. Dutton, nearly 20 years his junior, worked as an employment lawyer until her calling to the priesthood.
In his statement, Dalby said he had been in ordained ministry for over 30 years and had planned to devote the remainder of his working life “to serving the Church”.
“The Reverend Alison Dutton”, he added, “has potentially 30 years of ministry ahead of her and intended to devote this time to serving the church.”