Bishop Had Affairs, Episcopal Church Says

After two weeks of speculation about what drove its former leader to suicide, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts issued an extraordinary statement Thursday saying that Bishop David E. Johnson “was involved in several extramarital relationships” over his career as priest and bishop.

Some of those affairs amounted to “sexual exploitation,” said the statement, which encouraged “any and all injured individuals” to seek assistance from the diocese.

The statement also said that Bishop Johnson had tried to take his life at least once before.

Officials said they had decided to reveal Bishop Johnson’s misconduct because in the church’s “years of struggling … with the issue of clergy sexual exploitation” they had found that the healing process was promoted by a full disclosure of information.