BishopAccountability.org
	A Safe Church: Abuse, but No Scandal Union Leader [New Hampshire] January 16, 2007 http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=A+safe+church%3A+Abuse%2 C+but+no+scandal&articleId=e3447f95-aae0-4a7d-925d-59e1becd96de On New Year's Day, Peter Barton of Concord was charged with two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault on an 8-year-old girl. Barton was a leader in New Life Fellowship church in Concord. In case your mind is turning to the Catholic Church sex abuse scandals and thinking "here we go again," hold on. Upon learning of the charges, New Life Fellowship officials immediately alerted every member of the congregation that an alleged sexual predator was in their midst, the Concord Monitor reported yesterday. Church officials did this even though the alleged abuse took place at Barton's home, not at the church or in the context of any church-related event. What makes this swift action even more remarkable is that New Life Fellowship has no official policy on handling sexual abuse allegations, the Monitor reported. But then, most people understand that it doesn't take a written policy for officials to do the right thing. It usually just takes the impulse to do it. One little church in Concord has shown the entire Roman Catholic Church how to handle sexual abuse allegations. It's easy: If there's a credible allegation, alert the entire congregation immediately. Here endeth the lesson.
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