Houston Chronicle -In the[past] decade, more than 250 people who worked or volunteered in Southern Baptist churches have been charged with sex crimes, an investigation by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News reveals.
It's not just a recent problem: In all, since 1998, roughly 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have faced allegations of sexual misconduct, the newspapers found. That includes those who were convicted, credibly accused and successfully sued, and those who confessed or resigned. More of them worked in Texas than in any other state.
They left behind more than 700 victims, many of them shunned by their churches, left to themselves to rebuild their lives. Some were urged to forgive their abusers or to get abortions.
About 220 offenders have been convicted or took plea deals, and dozens of cases are pending. They were pastors. Ministers. Youth pastors. Sunday school teachers. Deacons. Church volunteers. How we did this story:
In 2007, victims of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist pastors requested creation of a registry containing the names of current and former leaders of Southern Baptist churches who had been convicted of sex crimes or who had been credibly accused. That didn't happen; the last time any such list was made public was by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It contained the names of eight sex criminals.
2 comments:
This is really horrid. There is a local Baptist Church that some years ago was thrown out of The Southern Baptist Convention. They had hired a gay minister, and over many decades this church has led the way for civil rights, desgregation in this town and area. So, I am glad that they were thrown out!
I have a good friend who is making a documentary about the Pastor there, now 93 years old, who led the way.
Patriarchy is always about controlling the fertility of girls. Sexual abuse of girls and women is the only thing patriarchial societies are capable of.
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