Officials at America’s leading Protestant church, the Southern Baptist Convention, have long blocked and concealed allegations of sexual assault, according to a lengthy study that confirms serious facts affecting hundreds of people, most of them underage.
This 288-page report, released Sunday, was produced by independent organization Guidepost Solutions, at the request of the Southern Baptist Convention administration, which was shaken by a major sex scandal.
The scandal, involving nearly 400 pastors, volunteers, and educators for two decades, came to light in 2019 thanks to investigations by two Texas newspapers, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.
“They have repeatedly encountered resistance, obstruction, and even open hostility from some members of the Executive Committee,” he continues.
“Our research reveals that several Executive Board officials who have had outside legal aid over the years have largely controlled the response to this report of misconduct,” the report’s authors said.
“They have very tightly guarded information on allegations of claims abuse, have not shared it with board members, and have focused their efforts on avoiding accountability from the Southern Baptist Convention to the exclusion of other issues.”
With a network of thousands of churches, the Southern Baptist Convention has more than 15 million members, mostly in the southern United States.
source: Noticias
