Baptists urge churches to take measures to prevent abuse

The Associated Press

Lexington Herald-Leader

November 17, 2007

LOUISVILLE, KY.  --  Kentucky Baptist leaders are urging churches to take more safety precautions as a measure to protect against sexual abuse.

The Kentucky Baptist Convention approved a resolution this week during its annual meeting that asks churches to increase their awareness of the issue and obtain professional background checks on all staff members and volunteers who work with minors.

The convention also says it will use ads, direct mail and training to educate churches about the threat of sexual abuse and how to detect it.

"Churches are more than wanting to deal with this, but they don't always know how," said Robert Reeves, a spokesman for the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

The convention also urged establishment of polices for Internet use on church computers, reflecting growing concern about the use of Internet pornography.

The convention considered a proposal to create a registry of sexual abusers in the ministry but decided against it, saying it could create a "false sense of security" because it may not be up to date, and it would be difficult to decide what to do about accusations that haven't been confirmed in court.

But professional background checkers could use existing public registries of sex offenders, and the convention plans to provide links on its Web site for churches to use such registries themselves, Reeves said.

The resolution follows growing attention to incidents of sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention, which also is considering establishing a registry.

Christa Brown of the group SNAP Baptist, which advocates for victims of abuse by Baptist clergy and works with the Catholic group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the convention could go further.

She said that because Baptist churches are self-governing, victims who report abuse are told to bring their allegations to the congregation where the abuse occurred, and often meet a hostile reaction from those who know and admire the accused.

A convention or association review board could respond compassionately to the victim and report its findings to the congregation, she said.

She cited the recent decision of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to adopt a policy for investigating abuse allegations.

"That is certainly what I would urge the Kentucky Baptist organization to do - look at that Alabama policy and ask themselves why they can't do something like that," Brown said.

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/233695.html

See also: Ky. Baptists act to prevent sex abuse in churches, Louisville Courier-Journal, 11/15/07

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