Religious school president resigns amid fallout from priests resignation

<p>The president of a private religious school has resigned following a recent controversy over the resignation under pressure of an Episcopal priest who wrote an article sympathetic to the confirmation of an openly gay Episcopalian priest as bishop.</p><p>David Hicks, president of Darlington School, announced Wednesday during a chapel service he will retire at the end of the school year. During the service he acknowledged the tumult his actions created at the school and in the Rome community.</p><p>John Merchant, 57, became chaplain at Darlington, a nondenominational preparatory school, during the summer. He wrote a column for the student newspaper about the Episcopalian churchs confirmation of V. Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, as Episcopal bishop in New Hampshire.</p><p>Merchant wrote in the Sept. 3 column in The Darlington that God is more concerned with spirituality than sexual orientation.</p><p>The false accusations and malicious publicity surrounding the Merchant resignation continue to hurt the school and have damaged my credibility as Darlingtons president, Hicks said in an announcement that was e-mailed to students parents later in the day.</p><p>After Merchants column appeared, Hicks and headmaster David Rhodes told Merchant that some school donors were considering withdrawing their support at the academy. They asked him to initiate between 50 and 75 one-one-one meetings over a month to apologize to individuals upset with the article.</p><p>Some parents and alumni defended Hicks response to the column, while others criticized him, saying the administrations reaction to the article was heavy-handed and trampled Merchants free speech rights.</p><p>Critics also said the reaction contradicted the openness inherent in the schools mission statement, which says that Darlington cultivates a nurturing community and that people of all religions are welcomed and respected.</p><p>Merchant has not found full-time employment since his resignation.</p>