UTAH
Deseret News
By Tad Walch, Deseret News
Published: Thursday, April 28 2016
SALT LAKE CITY — An official Mormon website has published the most comprehensive review yet of how the LDS Church works to prevent child sexual abuse in its congregations.
It characterized child sexual abuse as a societal plague and said the church’s first priority when it learns of abuse is to help the victim and stop the abuse.
“Every victim is a boy or girl who is suffering deeply,” the statement said. “We must do everything we can to protect and love them. We urge our local leaders and members to reach out to victims, comfort and strengthen them, and help them understand that what happened was wrong, the experience was not their fault, and that it should never happen ever again.”
The long statement was published Thursday as an approved resource on the official news website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, the church’s Young Women general president, also addressed child abuse on Thursday when she presented $125,000 in donations from the church to two child advocacy programs.
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