Herald Press, the trade book imprint of
Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA, will no longer sell books by
well-known author Bruxy Cavey.
Cavey, author of Herald Press titles Reunion and The
End of Religion, was asked to resign in March as senior pastor of The Meeting House, a Be In Christ denomination church in Ontario following a third-party
investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him.
“We take our responsibility of resourcing
the church seriously,” said Amy Gingerich, Herald Press publisher.
“Like The Meeting House, we also stand against sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and the abuse of power
and authority.
“Given that The Meeting House asked Cavey
to resign and removed all his teaching videos from their website and the Be In
Christ denomination revoked his credentials for ministry, we at Herald Press
cannot in good faith sell his books.”
Cavey’s books may continue to be available
through retailers who have existing inventory, but Herald Press will no longer
publish, print, or distribute Cavey’s titles.
In 2013, Herald Press had a similar decision to make following revelations of long-term sexual abuse
by well-known Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder (1927–97), Herald Press
decided to continue publishing books by him but with a disclaimer.
In a statement at that time, the publisher’s board said they would continue to publish books in the “hope that those studying Yoder’s writings will not dismiss the complexity of these issues and will instead wrestle with, evaluate and learn from Yoder’s work in the full context of his personal, scholarly and churchly legacy.”
Herald Press declined to comment on the different responses to the two books.
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