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Former Methodist leader, facing charges of sexual misconduct and abuse, no longer ordained

Donald Heckman, who goes by Bud, withdrew from West Ohio Con­ference membership June 10 under complaint, the conference announced. That means he surrendered his credentials as an ordained elder.

This development comes nearly six months after Heckman and conference leadership reached a resolution of an earlier complaint of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse brought by four women. Neither the women nor their two advocates were involved in the settlement, which avoided a church trial.

Church music composer David Haas accused of ‘sexual battery’ and ‘spiritual manipulation’

At least two religious publishers have cut ties with Catholic composer David Haas after nearly a dozen women have accused him of sexual and spiritual abuse.

GIA Publications, which publishes one of the most popular Catholic hymnals in the US, said in a June 13 Facebook post that it had become aware of the accusations against Haas in early 2020: “In response, we suspended our sponsorship and publishing relationship with Mr. Haas, and have not sponsored his work since late January.”