More people abused by church leaders? Who would have guessed!

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

https://start.att.net/news/read/article/the_associated_press-report_hundreds_abused_by_southern_baptist_leaders-ap/category/news

 

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Hundreds of Southern Baptist church leaders and workers have been accused of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years, including dozens who returned to church duties, according to a joint investigation by two newspapers. The San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that their six-month investigation found about 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and workers who were accused of sexual misconduct since 1998, leaving more than 700 victims. Some were as young as 3 years old while others were adults when they were abused, the newspapers reported. About 220 offenders — among them pastors, ministers, Sunday school teachers, deacons and church volunteers — have been convicted or have taken plea deals, with dozens of cases still pending. Nearly 100 are still in prison, according to state and federal records. Dozens of others made plea deals and served no time. More than 100 are registered sex offenders, and some have returned to the pulpit. At least 35 church pastors, employees and volunteers who exhibited predatory behavior were still able to find jobs at churches. Several past presidents and prominent Southern Baptist Convention leaders have been accused by victims of concealing or mishandling abuse complaints within their churches or seminaries, the newspapers reported. In 2008, a victim implored SBC leaders to track sexual predators, act against congregations that harbored or concealed abusers and establish sexual abuse prevention policies such as those adopted by other faiths, including the Roman Catholic Church. But the SBC Executive Committee rejected the proposals. The committee's interim president, August Boto, who drafted that rejection document, expressed "sorrow" on Sunday about the newspapers' findings. "It would be sorrow if it were 200 or 600 cases. Sorrow. What we're talking about is criminal. The fact that criminal activity occurs in a church context is always the basis of grief. But it's going to happen. And that statement (he drafted in 2008) does not mean that we must be resigned to it," he told the newspapers. The Rev. J.D. Greear, who was elected as the SBC's president last June, said the abuses described in the news report "are pure evil." "I am broken over what was revealed today," Greear wrote in a series of posts on Twitter. "The voices in this article should be heard as a warning sent from God, calling the church to repent." In recent years, several abuse survivors and their supporters have campaigned on the issue of sexual abuse within the SBC community. Activists remain skeptical as to whether the study committee created last July will recommend sufficiently tough anti-abuse measures. The committee was formed following a series of revelations about sexual misconduct cases involving SBC churches and seminaries, including allegations that led to the ouster of powerful leader Paige Patterson as president of a seminary in Texas. "We leaders in the SBC should have listened to the warnings of those who tried to call attention to this," Greear tweeted. "I am committed to doing everything possible to ensure we never make these mistakes again." He said the SBC must do better in preventing abuse, commit to full cooperation with legal authorities when it does occur, and offer better care to abuse victims. He also the SBC should never again try to skirt responsibility for abuse by asserting that its affiliated churches are autonomous. In late July, the SBC said it would form a high-level study group to develop strategies for combatting sexual abusers and ministering to their victims. "We cannot just promise to 'do better' and expect that to be enough," Greear wrote. "But today, change begins with feeling the full weight of the problem."

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

More religious leaders conning everyone into thinking they are decent people. Religion can be such a cess pool.

[JustinCharge 2,397]

8 minutes ago, Frozenbeernuts said:

More religious leaders conning everyone into thinking they are decent people. Religion can be such a cess pool.

Its not religion.  Its people.  This sort of thing happens all over the place.  If I were to tell you that there was rampant sexual abuse among office managers in corporate America I think most people would agree.  For some reason, people want to hold church leaders above this (as if they aren't human or something).  But when you think about it, you know its impossible for any organization run by humans to avoid this problem.  Its gonna happen regardless.  The thing you should be questioning then is why are they singling out religion for it? 

If your goal is to have a religion that zeroes out sexual misconduct among its leaders, you know that's impossible.  Just like its impossible for any other sector of society.

[EternalShinyAndChrome 2,492]

So the media is now running distraction stories to divert attention away from the Democrats blackface and racist members and the "Green New Deal" fiasco?

[RaiderHaters Revenge 3,565]

Ironically every time there is a terrorist event we see

#notallmuslims

I have yet to see

#notallchristians

 

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

The Muslim religion should be wiped from this earth. 

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

Throughout nature, predators go where the prey congregates (watering holes, food plots, etc....) Humans are no different.

Church is supposed to be a sanctuary and broken people let their guards down there. 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,576]

People are stupid for going to church because of the pedophiles. Ok, I get that. But people are smart for sending their kids to school despite the pedophiles? The outrage against the Church or any religion for abuse is justified. But let's apply the same standard to the institution our kids are actually at every day. 

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

2 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

People are stupid for going to church because of the pedophiles. Ok, I get that. But people are smart for sending their kids to school despite the pedophiles? The outrage against the Church or any religion for abuse is justified. But let's apply the same standard to the institution our kids are actually at every day. 

People are not only complaining about pedos at church but also womanizers. 'Holier than thou' is the hypocritical nature that people are rightly attacking. Telling people not to sin while you're committing adultery, pedo stuff, etc.....just doesn't fly. 

Also, the churches just remove the pastor and not spread the word on him. I've witnessed where one had problems taking more money than allotted then gets busted and just moved to another church, doing the same thing.

[wiffleball 4,631]

More children are sexually assaulted by parents at home than both schools and churches combined.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,576]

8 minutes ago, Filthy Fernadez said:

People are not only complaining about pedos at church but also womanizers. 'Holier than thou' is the hypocritical nature that people are rightly attacking. Telling people not to sin while you're committing adultery, pedo stuff, etc.....just doesn't fly. 

Also, the churches just remove the pastor and not spread the word on him. I've witnessed where one had problems taking more money than allotted then gets busted and just moved to another church, doing the same thing.

I suspect there is politics at play here. Religion is conservative and our schools are liberal. Who gets painted in the worse light for the same transgressions? 

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

Just now, Hardcore troubadour said:

I suspect there is politics at play here. Religion is conservative and our schools are liberal. Who gets painted in the worse light for the same transgressions? 

Without a doubt it's because religion is more conservative.

Go back to Virginia Governor debacle. He's monotone describing the killing of a newborn (yes born) but what fueled Dems to call for his resignation? Appearing in blackface er..........sorry 'face darkening'. 

[Hardcore troubadour 12,576]

6 minutes ago, Filthy Fernadez said:

Without a doubt it's because religion is more conservative.

Go back to Virginia Governor debacle. He's monotone describing the killing of a newborn (yes born) but what fueled Dems to call for his resignation? Appearing in blackface er..........sorry 'face darkening'. 

Yup. Rememeber when the liberal hippies called Vietnam vets baby killers? Almost zero Vietnam vets ever killed a baby. All liberals play a role in killing them now. 

[RLLD 3,455]

Religion is poison

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

I will be hyper critical of any institution where children are abused. If you mean that young children are being sexually abused in school just as much or more than the church, I haven't seen that comparison.

I am still going to be even more critical of a place that is supposed to be a true sanctuary. Like it was also mentioned, when a church official is found to abuse people/the system, they often times get moved to another church to continue their predetory ways. People can only be so vigilant before they need to rely on others to help spot the abusers. 

 

If abuse happened in a school and school officials found out, that person is going to be busted the vast majority of the time. Why is there a difference in reporting? Probably because its the people in the church who believe they are above the law in some way. It's a little more cringe worthy when a church abuses its followers, to me at least

[MDC 5,875]

Let’s focus on the real victims here: conservatives. They’ve been molested by the media.  

[jerryskids 5,167]

12 hours ago, riversco said:

Its not religion.  Its people.  This sort of thing happens all over the place.  If I were to tell you that there was rampant sexual abuse among office managers in corporate America I think most people would agree.  For some reason, people want to hold church leaders above this (as if they aren't human or something).  But when you think about it, you know its impossible for any organization run by humans to avoid this problem.  Its gonna happen regardless.  The thing you should be questioning then is why are they singling out religion for it? 

If your goal is to have a religion that zeroes out sexual misconduct among its leaders, you know that's impossible.  Just like its impossible for any other sector of society.

 

3 hours ago, Filthy Fernadez said:

Throughout nature, predators go where the prey congregates (watering holes, food plots, etc....) Humans are no different.

Church is supposed to be a sanctuary and broken people let their guards down there. 

Interesting points.  I'll add that such predators go to where they are in a position of power; not so much organizational but more emotional.  Ministers, teachers, instructors.  We had an instructor who was a molester at our taekwondo studio; we had a lot of kid classes so it was a good "watering hole" for that ######.  Thankfully he was caught eventually and hadn't done any physical damage to the kids.  He is probably the person I have most wanted to punch in the face in my entire life. 

[vuduchile 1,940]

14 hours ago, riversco said:

Its not religion.  Its people.  This sort of thing happens all over the place.  If I were to tell you that there was rampant sexual abuse among office managers in corporate America I think most people would agree.  For some reason, people want to hold church leaders above this (as if they aren't human or something).  But when you think about it, you know its impossible for any organization run by humans to avoid this problem.  Its gonna happen regardless.  The thing you should be questioning then is why are they singling out religion for it? 

If your goal is to have a religion that zeroes out sexual misconduct among its leaders, you know that's impossible.  Just like its impossible for any other sector of society.

I mostly agree with this.  But, weird sexual beliefs and practices like 72 virgins for martyrs, vows of celibacy, no contact during menstruation, stoning of gays and cheaters, and the endorsement of pedophilia leads to all kinds of deviant behavior from within.  

[Kanil 519]

Power corrupts, no matter where it comes from.

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

1 hour ago, Frozenbeernuts said:

I will be hyper critical of any institution where children are abused.

Holding children as sacrosanct in our society is very noble, including those about to be born.

[RLLD 3,455]

14 minutes ago, vuduchile said:

I mostly agree with this.  But, weird sexual beliefs and practices like 72 virgins for martyrs, vows of celibacy, no contact during menstruation, stoning of gays and cheaters, and the endorsement of pedophilia leads to all kinds of deviant behavior from within.  

Well, I believe in God, but I am afraid of Keyser Soze.....

[ROCKFORD 134]

if i had a convent full of horny, virgin nuns at my disposal ...

who knows?