Preventing Predators
By John Marc Greene
CBS 42 News
2008-05-02
It’s a subject no one wants to talk about. But now, a victim's advocate is urging Baptist churches across the nation to do more to prevent abuse, expose predators and minister to victims.
Christa Brown of Austin, Texas says she created the website stopbaptistpredators.org to shine a light on clergy sex abuse: but not out of revenge, even though she herself is a victim.
"I want kids in Baptist churches today to be a very great deal safer than I was growing up," said Brown.
But she says there's a problem.
"Unlike Catholics, Episcopals, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Methodists which all have church systems that allow people to report abuse within the church itself within the denomination. That system does not exist for Baptists," said Brown.
That means no church or outside organization is allowed to intervene when a pastor is accused of misconduct, because individual churches are independent.
Dr. Roger Willmore, of Deerfoot Baptist Church and President of the Alabama Baptist Convention, said, "I cannot fathom people abusing children physically or sexually but it happens."
The ABC last November started drafting a now 26-page document on how churches can protect children.
"I will acknowledge that it's primarily a preventative measure, but it does contain some information for churches on how they can know what to do after an incident has happened."
He says it is nearly ready for release to local congregations.
"To our churches, our Southern Baptist Churches, you need to do something, you need to be ready you need to be prepared, there has to be a right response, you need to be educated and trained and you need to know who the people are that you can call when this kind of situation happens," Willmore said.
For a link to the Stop Baptist Predators website, click on "Links" right here at CBS 42.com, or copy this line into your web browser:
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/index.htm
Here is a link for people who may have experienced an incident of clergy sex misconduct either as a victim or as a member of any community of faith:
http://www.snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm
Here is a link for Alabama Baptists:
http://www.alsbom.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=36469
And this link to the office that provides assistance to Southern Baptist Churches experiencing any kind of conflict:
http://www.alsbom.org/templates/System/details.asp?id=36469&PID=390013
And an article on preventing sexual abuse from the Alabama Baptist Children's Homes: