Baptist Church in the United States under investigation for obstructing complaints of sexual harassment

The United States Department of Justice has opened an investigation against the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the country’s main Protestant church, of which she is accused obstructed and hidden sexual assault reports.

The SBC board of directors “learned that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation” that affects various bodies of the organization, according to the church in a statement, in which it specified that it will do so “cooperate fully“with the authorities.

Meanwhile, he noted that SBC leaders have shown “an unwavering determination in attacking the past mistakes and take measures to ensure they never happen again. “

An independent report commissioned by the SBC concluded in May that alleged victims of sexual assault, as well as people who tried to report cases within the church, faced “resistance, obstruction and even open hostility” from the church officials for nearly two decades. executive committee members.

The sex scandal it involves about 400 shepherds and educators who sexually assaulted more than 700 victimsbecame known thanks to the investigations of two Texan newspapers, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News.

SBC was born in 1845, today it is more than 47,000 churches in the country and 15 million members. It is the largest Protestant church in the United States and is funded by donations. It makes over $ 132 million annually. Each parish is managed with great autonomy and the SBC also has 4,300 missions abroad.

Sexual abuse allegations at the Southern Baptist Convention

In early 2019, a news investigation published by the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News revealed that hundreds of spiritual leaders and administrative staff from Southern Baptist Church, Texas and several other states across the country, were accused of sexual abuse. over the past 20 years.

At least 380 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders, including pastors, ministers, teachers, deacons and volunteers, faced serious allegations of sexual misconduct. Over the past twenty years, these behaviors have claimed 700 lives. Some of them were children as young as three, but also adults.

The journalistic investigation took six months of work. It was determined that 220 defendants were convicted of sexual abuse or negotiated agreements to reduce their sentences. Some have confessed their acts or resigned from their positions within the church.

The vast majority of the victims were teenagers who have been abused more than once, in pastors’ offices or during Sunday classes. The investigation claims that the sexually abused adults had gone to seek pastoral help. Since 2006, the SBC has lost more than a million worshipers and in 2017 its baptisms fell to 254,000 per year, a historic drop according to local statistics.

Several former SBC presidents and leaders have been criticized by victims for hiding or obstructing the allegations.

With information from AFP.