The Curiosity Rover takes a selfie on Mars-NASA.
“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” Winston Churchill
This is going to be a quick post. I wasn’t feeling well today, and while I was resting, I thought about the following post and thought it might be good to continue the discussions regarding the SBC and its history of sex abuse. From my post on Wednesday, it is possible to assume that significant seminaries in the SBC are open to enrolling people with a criminal history of sexual abuse.
When Julie Roys called me and told me about Chatham, I was stunned. Indeed, Danny Akin knows better. He’s been through the Caring Well stuff and has presumably read the Guidepost Investigation. What in the world was he thinking? For me, the train has left the station. I have concluded that SBC is not safe for children.
But what is the DOJ looking for?
Bob Smietana, writing for Religion News Services, posted The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the SBC. What does it mean?
The article interviewed “Kathleen McChesney, a former FBI agent who served as executive director of the Office of Child Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.”
McChesney, now a consultant, said federal law enforcement officials often investigate sex trafficking, child porn and crimes against children on the internet. It’s less common for them to investigate sexual abuse, which is often handled by local or state officials.
This next part is interesting. The former U.S. attorney said they declined to bring charges after the RCC published a list of credibly accused clergy. What does this remind you of? That’s right—the secret SBC list of accused sex abusers.
The DOJ generally gets involved only when a federal crime may have occurred, often when victims are transported across state lines as part of an illegal act.
While it has been rare for the FBI or other department investigators to look into religious groups’ activities, the DOJ is currently investigating the Archdiocese of New Orleans to determine whether abusive Catholic priests took children across state lines, The Associated Press reported in June.
“The issue has always been determining what is the federal crime,” Peter G. Strasser, the former U.S. attorney in New Orleans, told AP earlier this year. Strasser, according to AP, “declined to bring charges in 2018 after the archdiocese published a list of 57 ‘credibly accused’ clergy.”
The Baptist Standard also posted What does the Justice Department’s SBC investigation mean?
In the following statement, McChesney refers to the Guidepost investigation report as something to look at.
“If I were still in law enforcement, I’d want to take a hard look at the report myself and see if there is anything of potential value to prosecutors in terms of bringing criminal charges against an offender, or if there is anything that law enforcement needs to do to in order to prevent a crime,” said Kathleen McChesney, a former FBI agent who served as executive director of the Office of Child Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
But…times have changed, and the #Metoo #Churchtoo movement is on the radar of law enforcement. If you haven’t seen the movie, Spotlight, do so. It is historically significant. The effects of the Boston Globe investigation of the RCC opened the eyes of the world. I found out Father Birmingham, mentioned in the movie, molested my friend that I grew up with in Salem. We all used to play in the St James parking lot, racing go-karts, and Fr. Birmingham used to hang out with us. He liked kids…
McChesney said the #MeToo movement has also made investigating sexual assault and domestic violence more of a priority than in the past. Federal law enforcement is in a different place than in the early 2000s, she noted, when The Boston Globe, The Boston Phoenix and other outlets revealed the extent of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Massachusetts.
“The whole landscape has changed over the past two decades,” she said, pointing to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s investigation that turned up more than 300 cases of clergy sexual abuse in the state’s Catholic parishes over the past 70 years.
When federal investigators target churches or religious figures, McChesney said, other issues, such as fraud or discrimination, have normally been involved.
And the most important statement, in my opinion, is this.
McChesney said investigating church leaders for a cover-up is more challenging than investigating specific crimes.
“You have to be able to prove that there was some intent to protect an abuser,” she said. “Is there proof somewhere that they were trying to hide or protect an abuser?”
I wonder, was there collusion on the part of SBC leaders to cover up and protect an abuser? I can think of some things that happened in the far and near past.
My final thought is this.
We live in a new era, and the public is less likely to stand for pastors covering up for abusers. Was there collusion? I, along with Todd and others, have written story after story about sex abuse with the SBC refusing to act, I would say it is possible. I think the SBC has reason to be nervous.
#SBCtoo
1
Short post but good post. In large organizations, like businesses, there are bound to be some “bad actors”. But I have seen in business where they have zero tolerance for leadership knowing about something and not acting. The punishment for not acting is the same as the offense itself: You get fired for not protecting the company”s interest and reporting the offense. Churches have done the opposite….. they attempt to protect organization by covering it up and this is supported at every level.
“You have to be able to prove that there was some intent to protect an abuser”
Judge Paul Pressler comes to mind … kingpin of SBC’s Conservative Resurgence … too big to fail … too big to be exposed.
This one’s for the SBC:
Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a-changin’
— Bob Dylan —
There have been a number of abusers, discussed TWW, that have abused in one State, and end up being a preacher in another State… despite the claim by SBC otherwise, they are a demonization with a overall structure, and preacher abuser A could not get another preaching job in a different State without SBC preachers/leaders B,C, D etc recommendation….
That is collusion to me..
Same here. IMHO, collusion. Or kind of like the Mob. Organized and evil. Crime. The top tier are crime bosses. With the stats and documentation done by Rob Downen at the Houston Chronicle, this is neither random nor incidental. It’s a network of organized crime. Surely the year 2000 mandates with a paradigm shift did not help to send things in the right direction.
The methods of the Jesuits, the body theologians, the fake “tolerant” William James, and Bismarck are identical.
Resurgent religion denies agency utterly – depersonalises utterly (this is why industry copies it).
The resurgents shut up heavens like brass by their dominionism, reifying (essentialism) and moralising.
Any christian that doesn’t pray the prayer of (by the Zacharias machine discredited) Daniel on behalf of the resurgents will be asked questions by a lot of children.
I would think Augie Boto is at the top of their list, since he was the legal representative of the SBC, part of the institution itself (and not representing a church), and he created a secret list of offenders and potential offenders with which he did nothing. If anyone in the EC, NAMB, or IMB knowingly moved someone into a position across state lines and Boto or other key leaders knew about it, that could be a problem for them.
And it should be.
ishy,
Yup
Christian watchblogs have covered several of these bad-boys and their ministry protectors over the years. I really think this will be a key consideration in the DOJ investigation.
Several in the Wartburg community have been #SBCtoo victims of one sort or another. Abuse takes on various forms. The denomination has been a mess for years.
Break-Her-Down Patterson
Ronnie Armani Floyd
Ice-Man Mohler
Whack-Whack Dever
Sneakers Greear
etc.
etc.
Max,
They do the crime, they’ve got their handles. Then they use their lawyers as hitmen to go after survivors (those who have evidence). It’s a racket worthy of Hollywood.
they could call the movie “God Father” … oh wait a minute, there’s something like that already
I know you meant denomination and I totally agree with you. Perhaps the thing that scares them most is being declared a denomination and getting sued from all of those abused in an SBC church.
Scorsese should make the flick, with Joe Pesci narrating.
Yup and yup…. My bet that is why the SBC has been so resistant for so many years…. Lawyers told them they are liable if it all gets out..
Ishy, people like Augie Boto must have feared exposure of ‘the sins of the fathers’ but the price to be paid was that the victims of abuse were not considered for mercy.
People who shielded the predators and kept them from justice must have know that, in God’s time, they cannot hold back against the coming mercy of God that puts light on their crimes against the innocent . . .
I don’t know who looks worse in the Church:
the ones who committed crimes against the innocent
or the ones who supported the criminals;
but I think now, it may be the latter group because THEY KNEW that in not reporting crimes, they allowed the abuse to continue and the suffering to continue . . . somehow that seems WORSE in a way,
because turning away from the obligation to help the voiceless is also to deny one’s own humanity and WHAT FOR ? WHAT FOR?
Human nature itself is on trial in the midst of these scandals. Libera nos a malo.
A mega-church hits new lows, “Accusations found in the report include incidents of nudity by leadership, sexual harassment, racist remarks, bullying that spilled over into assault, and extravagant spending by ‘senior leadership based on their apparent lifestyles and appearances.’” Nudity and assault? https://julieroys.com/review-finds-system-leadership-failures-new-zealand-megachurch/
The testimony provided by victims in the SGM lawsuit reveals that abuse runs deep and is institutional. I would not be surprised about anything. Like my German Shorthaired Pointer, the DoJ is on the scent something and is going to hold it’s point until the quarry flushes.
Most lawyers wouldn’t know this Bible passage: “For there is nothing covered up which is not going to be exposed, nor anything private which is not going to be made public” (Luke 12:2-3) … but any Baptist pastor worth a pulpit would.
That’s probably why Mahaney fled to the SBC … he felt at home there.
More Baptists doing things with teens, more charges.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/circle-of-hope-baptist-girls-school-hit-with-sex-trafficking-lawsuit?ref=scroll
Ava Aaronson,
More stories.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/amanda-householder-explains-how-she-got-her-parents-arrested-for-abusing-teen-girls
Max,
The SBC and SGM partnership needs to be investigated as well.
Apparently, Dr. Mohler ignored SBC’s 2013 resolution “On Sexual Abuse of Children” when he continued his association with C.J. Mahaney and SGM, with Mahaney eventually relocating to Louisville and eventually joining SBC. Those who drafted the resolution had Mohler and Mahaney in mind when they wrote:
“We encourage all denominational leaders and employees of the Southern Baptist Convention to utilize the highest sense of discernment in affiliating with groups and or individuals that possess questionable policies and practices in protecting our children from criminal abuse.”
https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-sexual-abuse-of-children/
In that same area of Missouri, the Agape Ranch for boys has also been exposed for horrible abuse.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/agape-school-ex-students-reveal-abuse-at-christian-torture-compound-in-missouri
The legal loopholes allowing such “Christian” schools to be exempt from state rules governing secular boarding schools and children’s homes obviously need to be closed.
emily honey,
I’m putting this on Twitter. You and max are spot on!
dee,
“Sovereign Grace Ministries moved its headquarters from Maryland to Louisville, Ky., in part to strengthen ties with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Seminary President Albert Mohler and Mahaney are among a small group of scholars and preachers — also including 9Marks Ministries founder Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington – identified as leaders in a Neo-Calvinist movement that goes by the nickname “young, restless and Reformed.”
Lumpkins says such relational ties are “indirectly tarnishing the name of Southern Baptists everywhere and branding Southern Baptists as morally complicit in protecting probable sexual perpetrators against helpless children.””
https://baptistnews.com/article/sexual-abuse-resolution-proposed/#.YwF_0n3MKpo
Ava Aaronson,
Isn’t that what some politicians call ‘religious freedom’?
Just going to point out that the report also mentioned that the church basically treated its LGBTQIA “members” like dirt, which, while acceptable here in the USA, is much less acceptable in Aotearoa (get used to it, it might become New Zealand’s new name). Of course Julie Roys writes: “While not universal, many evangelical denominations hold to a biblical ethic teaching that homosexuality is a sin.”
*sigh* So many other things are sins, but Evangelicals in general have decided that being LGBTQIA is the uber-sin. The “cool” churches won’t admit to being anti-LGBTQIA up front, but the moment people want to do something besides pay, pray and obey, it’s a problem. The more open about how we LGBTQIA are despised are also up front about wanting to either shove us back into the closet or wipe us out entirely. The irony to me is that so many other sins (which are ALSO crimes) are covered up (*cough* child sexual abuse *cough*) while being LGBTQIA is no crime.
For the record, I don’t consider my existence as an asexual queer person to be a sin. There. But yeah, I’ve had people tell me that I disobeyed God because I failed to get married and have children. *waves hands* I don’t get this at all. *walks away*
emily honey,
Please add all of New Frontiers worldwide including its five offshoot movements because of Virgo, Smyth, and misc ellaneous Piper proponents.
“Now, what shall we do? Shall we go on sinning because we have no Law to condemn us any more, but are living under Grace? Never! Just think what it would mean. You belong to the power which you choose to obey, whether you choose sin, whose reward is death, or God, obedience to whom means the reward of righteousness.” (Romans 6:15-21 Phillips)
Southern Baptists, like all church folks, belong to the power which they choose to obey … hundreds (perhaps thousands) of SBC “pastors” have chosen to follow evil desires. Those who call themselves Christian don’t have “religious freedom” to do darn well what they please.
Off topic totally, but those who have prayed regarding our drought situation: since I posted we were in extreme drought we have received roughly 14 inches of rain, which puts us in moderate drought. I doubt it will make a lot of difference this late for gardeners or row crops, but it is looking good for pastures to at least recover. No second hay cutting likely, but at least the cattle can feed on the pastures for part of the winter which will likely stretch the first cutting of hay quite a bit.
Your wallets will be happy about this along about December regarding meat prices.
Thank you for praying!
As I remember, the SBC compiled the list to protect itself and kept it secret from the advocates who were asking that they create a database and make it public. Then congregants could protect themselves.
The SBC knew and covered it up. Maybe the DOJ can help them see the error of their ways. Or maybe they will claim persecution.
= an underlying reason for the DOJ investigation, IMO
Anybody that has any interest in justice (e.g., DOJ) is getting sick and tired of the continuing reports coming from SBC on abusers and their protection.
Max,
Agreed.
A bunch of people are being harmed. I’m glad they published the report, but I wonder if other organizations will be reluctant to do the same.
IMO, the SBC abuse report is but a small glimpse of darkness in the American church, resident in various expressions of faith.
Max,
I know it is in other demotions.. I have seen it with my own eyes…
Lawyers working these cases of #churchtoo CSA confirm what you have seen. The attorneys work across denoms, across State and Provincial lines (US & Canada).
The “church” has been swept clean of ‘the’ Gospel and other spirits have taken up residence … we ain’t seen nothin’ yet … much more to be revealed.
So Dee will not run out of material for TWW posting? … any time soon?
Max,
When the denoms get upset about the truth being revealed, there are likely some angels of light confusing people and leading them to the ways of the earthly kingdom.
tip of the iceberg always hits before the iceberg
I do.
You failed in your purpose to Outbreed The Heathen.
Ever heard of the phrase “Our Duty to The Party”?
I second the motion, and I hope to God that criminal indictments are in the works too.
linda,
I don’t hear English christians pray about harvests. “The system” looks after us, while “faith” is solely for designer accessory self congratulation!
Michael in UK,
At the price of “it’s the fall” style self flagellation of course!
“Last year, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt identified 65 criminal charges against 22 staff members accused of abusing 36 children. But the Cedar County prosecutor only charged 5 people with multiple counts of assault.
It hasn’t stopped those boys, many of whom are now men, from filing civil lawsuits.”
https://www.ky3.com/2022/08/24/more-lawsuits-filed-against-stockton-boarding-school-accusing-staff-sexual-physical-abuse/