Religions are always protecting their own. There is an unspoken rule in sectarian circles (or in the case of some churches, actual memos): you don’t rat out your fellow Christian, no matter the crime. You see, to hard-core believers, it is the outside secular world that is to be feared. The fact that there are countless wolves in sheep’s clothing amongst their ranks is less terrifying to them than the prospect of the secular world interfering with their affairs.
Still, news often leaks of the countless instances of child rapes, and other horrid crimes. In order to try and pretend that they are doing something about it, The Southern Baptist Church had pledge a few years ago to create a website meant to track individual abusers within the church. With hundreds of cases, it should have been a breeze. Instead, they’ve been stalling so bad that not one single name is on their pathetic excuse for a website.
To date, no names appear on the Ministry Check website designed to track abusive pastors, despite a mandate from Southern Baptists to create the database. The committee has also found no permanent home or funding for abuse reforms, meaning that two of the task force’s chief tasks remain unfinished…Instead, she said, SBC leaders do just enough to make it look like they care, without any real progress.
Do you mean to say that a religious organization, which had previously done everything in it’s power to either ignore abuse or protect abusers, would only offer empty platitudes instead of solutions? What a shocker! Next thing you’ll try and tell me is that water is wet, and that fire burns. So, what’s behind the veil of secrecy, you may wonder? Why, it’s the most important thing to any church of course: money!
SBC leaders have long sought to shield the denomination and especially the hundreds of millions of dollars given to Southern Baptist mission boards and other entities from liability for sexual abuse. The 12.9 million-member denomination has no direct oversight of its churches or entities, which are governed by trustees, making it a billion-dollar institution that, for all intents and purposes, does not exist outside of a few days in June when the SBC annual meeting is in session.
There’s more employee oversight for Uber than there is for Southern Baptists pastors. Pathetic. The SBC even tried to stop an independent couple from posting their own list, sending them a threatening email. Luckily, because the names they publish are for convicted felons, they are immune from being sued for essentially telling the truth.
Anyone who still thinks that billion dollar evil organizations give an iota of care for their flock, beyond the ability to fleece them, is officially a moron. Thanks for helping these clowns make the world a worst and less safe place to live!