GARDENCITY (KS)
Garden City Telegram
February 13, 2019
My first reaction upon hearing that hundreds of leaders in the Southern Baptist church had sexually abused as many as 700 people in 400 churches, including victims as young as 3, was “how could they?” It was the same reaction I had when news of predatory priests in the Roman Catholic Church, and the cover-up that followed the sexual abuse allegations, surfaced.
I have belonged to Southern Baptist churches in the past, so I know something about their proud “independent” status. Some critics have said it is the lack of a central authority in these churches that contributed to failed oversight. The Catholic Church has a central authority. How do you explain its oversight structure?
The reporting by the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and The Washington Post should turn any stomach. Most Baptists have had children in their Sunday school programs. What must they be thinking as they ponder whether to ask their child, who by now might be a teen or an adult, if they had ever been abused by a teacher, pastor or counselor?
The Washington Post reports: ”…instead of ensuring that sexual predators were kept at bay, the Southern Baptist Convention, resisted policy changes. …Victims accused church leaders of mishandling their complaints, even hiding them from the public.”
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