China Christian Daily
By Pauline Petro
on May 27, 2016
Once a reporter in the US asked President Carter if he has ever committed adultery in anyway. The question was very blunt and honest.
However, should this be the way one sees this issue of sex crimes?
I have a colleague who suffered from a personal tragedy six years ago. She’s a new graduate at that time and was quite young, innocent and served the Church with earnest. While she knew that there are a lot of crimes in society today, she still believed that the church was a holy place and all the ministers were good people. However, reality is not as black and white as she saw it and she found herself unable to comprehend the truth that she was sexually abused by a minister severely. Shamefully, as well.
When she would remember what has transpired and how she reacted, she would always get angry as she was very silent about how she was violated and who was responsible for her attack. She watched in silence as to how the minister continued to serve God “honorably” and led the church as a “powerful leader.” As the years progressed, she became even angrier when others would say they have experienced sexual abuse from ministers.
The church has often preached about forgiving and the importance of interpersonal relationships in the church. However, with my colleague’s misfortune, I wish to speak about sexual violence in the church.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.