The sex abuse scandal was thrust into the spotlight in 2019 by a landmark report documenting hundreds of cases in Southern Baptist churches, including several in which alleged perpetrators remained in ministry.
FILE - This Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 file photo shows the headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Leaders of the SBC, America's largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations, according to a scathing 288-page investigative report issued Sunday, May 22, 2022.
“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC,” the report said.
—Restrict the use of nondisclosure agreements and civil settlements which bind survivors to confidentiality in sexual abuse matters, unless requested by the survivor. On May 13, Hunt, who was the senior vice president of evangelism and leadership at the North American Mission Board, the SBC’s domestic missions agency, resigned from that post, said Kevin Ezell, the organization’s president and CEO. Ezell said, before May 13, he was “not aware of any alleged misconduct” on Hunt’s part.
Survivors “spoke of trauma from the initial abuse, but also told us of the debilitating effects that come from the response of the churches and institutions like the SBC that did not believe them, ignored them, mistreated them, and failed to help them,” the report said.
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Report: Top Southern Baptists Stonewalled Sex Abuse VictimsTop Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday. The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination. The 288-page report states survivors and others repeatedly shared allegations with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. They were met with resistance and outright hostility from within the top administrative committee, the report says. The seven-month investigation was conducted by Guidepost Solutions, an independent firm contracted by the Executive Committee. Last year, delegates at the SBC’s national gathering demanded the committee should not be allowed to investigate itself and set this third-party review into motion.
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Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victimsTop Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday
Read more »
Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victimsLeaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost...
Read more »
Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victimsTop Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday.
Read more »
Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victimsLeaders of the Southern Baptist Convention stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their own reputations, according to a scathing 288-page investigative report issued Sunday.
Read more »
Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victimsTop Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday.
Read more »