UNITED STATES
Mennonite World Review
Jun 30, 2014 by Mennonite Church USA
ELKHART, Ind. — A Mennonite Church USA discernment group addressing sexual abuse by the late theologian John Howard Yoder has reported finding additional evidence of abuse.
After a June 3 meeting in Elkhart, the group said they found more documentation of Yoder’s abuse of women, including fondling and sexual intercourse. The many women Yoder wronged included students, missionaries and church workers.
The group accessed previously unexamined institutional and personal files, including memos by Yoder.
In some instances, the group reported, women who engaged in sexual encounters were persuaded, at least initially, by Yoder that such behavior was permissible between Christian “brothers” and “sisters.” Many others resisted his unwanted advances, and were perplexed and distressed by his pursuit.
“We are also learning how long it took church leaders to intervene effectively,” the group reported.
An issue of Mennonite Quarterly Review planned for early 2015 will focus on sexual abuse in Mennonite contexts. It will include an article by historian Rachel Waltner Goossen on the topic the group appointed her to research: Mennonite church institutional responses to Yoder’s sexual abuse in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.
While a four-year accountability process for Yoder began in 1992, doubt lingers about its outcome, since little about it was communicated to the public.
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