Keeping Watch

6/2/2007

Protestants urged to guard against child abuse

By Karen Owen

Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, KY

A man of God abuses church members' trust and respect by molesting a young boy or girl. When church leaders find out, they cover it up, and the minister moves on to another, unsuspecting congregation.

Many Protestants would like to believe that happens only in Catholic churches. Victims advocates say that's not true.

Now a vocal critic of Catholic bishops and their handling of a clergy sexual abuse scandal says Protestants shouldn't be the first to cast stones.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, has asked the Southern Baptist Convention to clean up its own house.

The issue may come up at the convention's annual meeting June 12-13 in Austin, Texas.

"I think it's terrific SNAP is doing that," said the Rev. Gary Hayes, pastor of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church here and a member of SNAP. "Clergy abuse is not just a Catholic thing. It happens in every denomination."

"I know people don't like hearing it," Hayes said.

Addressing the issue is "one of the things Jesus would expect of us to do," he said. "If people are suffering, we are supposed to do something about it."

Apples and oranges

So far, Southern Baptist leaders have responded that, unlike the Catholic Church and other hierarchical religious groups, their denomination can't impose policies or safeguards on local churches. No bishop or superintendent assigns staff to churches. They say SNAP is trying to compare apples to oranges.

Baptists have been taking more precautions for 20 years now, said the Rev. Jerry Tooley, director of missions for the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association.

However, "Each congregation is autonomous," Tooley said. "They pick whom they want as their pastor or staff person."

The convention did pass a resolution in 2002 calling on churches to discipline ministers guilty of sexual abuse and to cooperate with authorities in investigating abuse.

At least one Baptist leader at the time cautioned members not to feel too smug about the Catholic scandal.

Since 1950 an estimated 5,431 Catholic priests have been accused, and more than 13,000 victims have alleged abuse in the Catholic Church, Religion News Service reports. The scandal has cost the church more than $1.7 billion.

Within six months in 2006-07, SNAP leaders say, they have received about 40 reports of sexual abuse by Southern Baptist ministers. Some incidents date back several years.

Recent examples include:

- A 48-year-old woman sued her former pastor and his church in Texas, claiming the pastor raped her when she was 15. She became pregnant with his child at 18 and was forced to publicly seek forgiveness as an unwed mother while the pastor was protected.

- A longtime staff member of a megachurch near Memphis, Tenn., was fired during the winter after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused his son several years before. Turmoil has rocked the congregation and threatened the pastor's job because he knew about the situation for months and didn't handle the situation more aggressively.

- A former music and youth minister pleaded guilty in Missouri late last year to molesting teenage boys. When charged, he was already serving time in prison in Kentucky for performing sex acts with boys at a church near Georgetown in the late 1990s.

- A volunteer camp leader was arrested in Illinois earlier this year for child pornography and indecent solicitation of a child. The man met both of his victims through a Baptist-affiliated church camp, although no crimes actually occurred there.

Denial is tempting

SNAP has asked the SBC to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse. Because the denomination's decentralized system can make it easier for pedophiles to hide, the group wants an independent Baptist review board to investigate molestation reports and a database of information on those accused.

The Kentucky Baptist Convention's mission board last month did agree to study creating such a registry for this state.

Across a variety of denominations, criminal background checks are already very common for church job seekers and volunteers, several local ministers said.

Hayes said background checks are great but not foolproof. "It means nothing's been reported so far." Conflicts may also have been settled out of court, he said.

He's also concerned about independent ministers who "just kind of open up their own church." No one is keeping tabs on them, so "vigilance is the key," Hayes said.

If someone does have an allegation against a Baptist minister or church worker, Tooley said, they can take their concerns to the church personnel committee or deacons, or if necessary to the entire congregation.

But Hayes said the response can vary with personalities and congregational politics. Congregations have turned against victims, he said.

"There's a strong temptation" for a church to cover up the situation, said David Sharrard, professor of pastoral care and counseling at Lexington Theological Seminary. "Although a lot of people are hurt, they're embarrassed, they're ashamed, they don't always get professional help dealing with this."

Baptist Press, Associated Baptist Press, EthicsDaily.com and Religion News Service contributed to this report.