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Southern Baptist Convention: US Baptists release 205

2022-05-27T15:55:20.849Z


The list is 205 pages long: After years of attempts by US Baptist leaders to cover up sexual abuse, hundreds of cases and the names of alleged perpetrators have now been published.


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Headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville

Photo: Holly Meyer/AP

The list is arranged alphabetically from A to Y. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has released a document listing the names of pastors and other church workers accused of sexual abuse.

It is 205 pages long and each column lists a crime with the alleged perpetrator who committed it.

The publication should be a "first but important step" in the process of reappraisal, explained SBC - the largest Protestant denomination in the USA with more than 13 million members.

Three years ago, an abuse scandal among US Baptists shook the country.

At the time, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News revealed that more than 700 children and young people had been abused for years.

Earlier this week, a report revealed that Baptist leaders have attempted to cover up the sexual abuse and silence victims.

Survivors and advocates who raised the alarm about sexual misconduct have faced "resistance, subterfuge and even outright hostility" at the highest levels of church leadership.

Newspapers had uncovered hundreds of cover-ups since the late 1990s.

The inquiry report noted that some church leaders had no interest in investigating or making the cases public.

The list that has now been published contains hundreds of entries.

The first line reads something like this: »In 2009, Ralph Lee Aaron, 54, pastor (...) accepted a life sentence for producing child pornography (...) on several 8 to 12 year old boys.

He's a registered sex offender.” Photos have been added to some entries, while other entries have had their names and details blacked out.

With the publication of the allegations, the SBC wants to name "the scourge of sexual abuse" and initiate reforms, it said in a statement.

The list includes convictions of pastors and church workers, as well as investigations and cases that have not been reported to the police.

Several high-ranking executives knew about the allegations of abuse, they even compiled a list of hundreds of suspects, but did not inform anyone about it.

They weren't focused on helping the victims, but on preventing harm to the church, the 300-page report said.

It also appears that a large number of managers were themselves involved in misconduct.

Victims were ignored, discredited and told that no action would be taken because it would violate the autonomy of individual churches - "even if it meant that convicted abusers continued their ministry without notification or warning to their current church or community".

kha/AFP

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2022-05-27

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