TW: SBC sex abuse report

[lea]

TW


The 300-page report (linked in article) has dropped and it’s as awful as many anticipated in regards to cover-ups by those in leadership.

www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/05/22/southern-baptist-sex-abuse-report/

[rubytue]

Grew up Southern Baptist. And this surprises me not at all.

[pugz]

Russell Moore’s response was good.

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/may-web-only/southern-baptist-abuse-apocalypse-russell-moore.html

Burn the SBC to the ground

[imojoebunny]

Not surprised at all. I had a man who worked for me 8 or 9 years ago. His daughter, just 18, still in high school, "fell" pregnant by the Southern Baptist youth minister at her church. What did they do, you might ask? The church fired him, and the family/church insisted that he marry the child, and do the "right thing". A little late for that. Some fucked up shit, right there.

[basilosaurus]

The most recent episode of SVU involved a rapist priest, and it somehow surprised everyone. How in 2022 can someone be shocked by anyone in authority abusing that power?! This is far from the first time, and it unfortunately will not be the last.

I hope this leads to changes. And closure for those abused.

[mysteriouswife]

May 22, 2022 20:58:31 GMT -5 rubytue said:

Grew up Southern Baptist. And this surprises me not at all.

Same. Southern and Free Will raised. My youth minister would lie to my mom so I could hangout with my 17/18 year old boyfriend when I was 12/13. Looking back there was so much that could have been done to protect me. There is a lot more to this story I don’t want to share. But yeah… I was groomed.

[papiercherri]

May 22, 2022 21:57:07 GMT -5 imojoebunny said:

Not surprised at all. I had a man who worked for me 8 or 9 years ago. His daughter, just 18, still in high school, "fell" pregnant by the Southern Baptist youth minister at her church. What did they do, you might ask? The church fired him, and the family/church insisted that he marry the child, and do the "right thing". A little late for that. Some fucked up shit, right there.

Ugh. I remember a girl I went to high school with married her youth pastor as soon as she graduated. The guy was in his 30’s and everyone talked about how “respectful” he was for waiting until she turned 18 to formally start dating her. He had been her youth pastor since she was in junior high and no one will ever convince me he wasn’t creeping on her then. But you know, he met that gold standard minimum age to not be charged with statutory rape, so…ugh.

[neverfstop]

I thought this was old news?? But I guess this is a separate investigation that I was remembering from a few years ago
www.chron.com/news/investigations/article/Investigation-reveals-700-victims-of-Southern-13591612.php

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have declined for more than a decade to create a list of sexual predators from affiliated churches. But the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News assembled one of our own.

The newspapers spent nearly a year building a database of church leaders and volunteers who pleaded guilty or were convicted of sex crimes in the past 20 years. Most are now in prison or are registered sex offenders. More are from Texas than from any other state.

[rubytue]

@@@@@@@@@@@@

Ugh… I guess this is the definition of trigger… I just remembered about this guy I knew is college, kind of gave off creepy vibes then. After her graduated, he found Jesus and went on to become a youth minister. And, then I remember hearing few years later that he got caught for being inappropriate with youth. Fucker. I wish I could remember his last name to confirm what I am thinking happened.

edit - eventually found it. He was Baptist, but apparently his conviction was in school, not church 🤢 And apparently did not comply with mandatory counseling. And I fell down a crazy rabbit hole and found his Twitter (dude, why your real name?!) and it’s all MAGA shit. I literally feel sick thinking I knew this guy…

[neverfstop]

Southern Baptist leaders to release private database on sex abuse, revoke ex-leader's benefits

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Southern-Baptist-executive-committee-to-meet-to-17194690.php

[waverly]

This kind of stuff makes me hesitant to get involved in any church, especially for my tween kids. Part of me would like them to have that extra social network, but not at that kind of expense. We are not Baptist, but sometimes go to a progressive Methodist church.

[pugz]

May 24, 2022 13:58:48 GMT -5 waverly said:

This kind of stuff makes me hesitant to get involved in any church, especially for my tween kids. Part of me would like them to have that extra social network, but not at that kind of expense. We are not Baptist, but sometimes go to a progressive Methodist church.

We go to a similar type of church but I am wary of youth groups and church camps

[DarcyLongfellow]

May 24, 2022 13:58:48 GMT -5 waverly said:

This kind of stuff makes me hesitant to get involved in any church, especially for my tween kids. Part of me would like them to have that extra social network, but not at that kind of expense. We are not Baptist, but sometimes go to a progressive Methodist church.

@@@@@ The Episcopal church, after the Catholic priest scandals, has gotten very proactive about this issue. In order to do any volunteering with kids or youth at my church, you are required to attend a training called "Safeguarding God's Children," which focuses on recognizing signs of abuse and grooming. They're also very serious about the rules in place, such as the fact that you *always* have to have 2 adults present at all times when working with kids or teens. I'm sure not all churches follow the rules, but they are there.

[neverfstop]

SBC published the list
www.sbc.net/satf/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top

[pinkdutchtulips]

May 27, 2022 0:03:22 GMT -5 DarcyLongfellow said:

May 24, 2022 13:58:48 GMT -5 waverly said:

This kind of stuff makes me hesitant to get involved in any church, especially for my tween kids. Part of me would like them to have that extra social network, but not at that kind of expense. We are not Baptist, but sometimes go to a progressive Methodist church.

@@@@@ The Episcopal church, after the Catholic priest scandals, has gotten very proactive about this issue. In order to do any volunteering with kids or youth at my church, you are required to attend a training called "Safeguarding God's Children," which focuses on recognizing signs of abuse and grooming. They're also very serious about the rules in place, such as the fact that you *always* have to have 2 adults present at all times when working with kids or teens. I'm sure not all churches follow the rules, but they are there.

ELCA Lutherans are the same way … if you want to work w kids, you’ll be trained, checked, and fingerprinted.

[basilosaurus]

That is a long list!

Does anyone else find it odd that it's written in first person at times?

I assume redactions were for those who not convicted and sentenced?

[pugz]

It still hides the ones not convicted so no new info

[lea]

The DOJ has launched an investigation into the SBC.

Houston Chronicle has an article on their home page but it’s behind a paywall and I can’t seem to link it.

This is the press release from
SBC.