abuse

Review of Catholic church sexual abuse to be undertaken in Colorado; reparations program planned

DENVER – Colorado’s former U.S. attorney will lead an independent review of sexual abuse of minors in the three Colorado dioceses of the Catholic Church, and an independent compensation fund will be created for the victims of abuse, as part of a combined effort between the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the church.

Attorney General Phil Weiser and Archbishop Samuel Aquila announced the new initiatives in Denver Tuesday morning.

A third-party review of sexual abuse of minors by priests in the dioceses of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo will be conducted and led by former U.S. Attorney for Colorado Robert Troyer. Though the review will not be a criminal investigation, the attorney general’s office will give resources to local district attorneys to investigate any new criminal conduct uncovered.

Troyer will also prepare a full public report that is expected to be released by this fall, which will name the priests who have had substantiated allegations of abuse levied against them and detail the abuse and the time period in which it occurred.

The review will also show how the three dioceses responded to abuse allegations over time and look at their current policies and procedures to prevent and respond to abuse allegations. Weiser said that any lack of cooperation by anyone involved in the investigation would be “called out” in the report.

Half of Troyer’s review will be funded by the three dioceses and the other half will be paid for by a private group of donors picked by Weiser’s office.

In addition to the full review, the dioceses will be responsible for funding an independent reparations program in which two experts will review the cases of victims and determine financial awards. The awards could be paid out even if the statute of limitations in the cases have run.

Each victim deemed to be owed an award will have a choice of whether or not to accept the money, but the dioceses will be bound to pay for any award money a victim chooses to take. Victims will also be allowed to come forward even after Troyer’s report is complete.

The reparations program will be overseen by an independent committee chaired by former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown and will be paid out of the dioceses’ reserves.

In connection with the reparations program, there will be a separate support service for victims, where they will be able to talk with professionals about the reparations and speak with other survivors.

The review was initiated last fall after a grand jury report in Pennsylvania last August uncovered new claims of abuse within the church around the country.

“The sexual abuse of minors is a societal problem that demands attention and action. I am pleased the Church has recognized the need for transparency and reparations for victims,” Weiser said. “This independent review promises a full evaluation and inquiry. For any victims of sexual abuse, this will provide a recognition of past wrongdoing and offer an opportunity for healing.”

“The damage inflicted upon young people and their families by sexual abuse, especially when it’s committed by a trusted person like a priest, is profound,” Aquila said in a statement. “While this process will certainly include painful moments and cannot ever fully restore what was lost, we pray that it will at least begin the healing process. We also acknowledge that the bright light of transparency needs to shine on the Church’s history related to the sexual abuse of minors. With humility and repentance, we hope the programs announced today offer a path to healing for survivors and their families.”

The review started last fall under former Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, whom Weiser thanked at Tuesday’s press conference for working together for Colorado.

“It is my sincere hope that the independent review we announce today validates survivors of sexual abuse by priests and empowers them in their ongoing recovery,” Coffman said in a statement. “I am encouraged that the Catholic Dioceses of Colorado have voluntarily agreed to this review by an outside party that, hopefully, allows victims an opportunity to have some healing and helps the Church and its faithful move forward from a place of truth and vigilance.”

Weiser and Coffman thanked the dioceses for “coming to the table” regarding this process after the attorney general’s office heard from more victims following the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report.

Coffman said the office consulted with other states and organizations about how to handle their own investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests, and both she and Weiser noted that they could not have brought such a case to a grand jury in Colorado.

She said that the church agreed to meet to discuss options, and that what emerged from those conversations and meetings turned into the effort unveiled on Tuesday.

“For that, I thank you,” Coffman told Aquila, thanking the church and its counsel for their involvement. But she then spoke directly to the victims of abuse.

“It is a recognition of sexual abuse by priests who live throughout our state – to [the victims], I want to say, we recognize your suffering and we validate your experience. Whether you have spoken about what happened to you, or you have kept it in your heart over the years … I encourage you to reach out for support … you needn’t suffer in silence,” Coffman added.

Aquila added that the “bright light of transparency needs to shine on the church’s history” and said that he and the other leaders would accept the results from the third-party investigations.

“We hope this announcement will motivate anyone who has been harmed to come forward,” he said. “We pray it will begin the healing process.

Durham megachurch pastor says database of ministers credibly accused of sexual abuse is future possibility

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --

More than a decade after the Southern Baptist Convention rejected the idea of creating a database of ministers credibly accused of sexual abuse, leaders said on Monday night the possibility is on the table.

The denomination already was looking at how it could better respond to abuse when two Texas newspapers published an investigation last week that detailed hundreds of cases of abuse in its churches.

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Those revelations added a sense of urgency to a meeting of the SBC's executive committee on Monday night, where President J.D. Greear reported on the progress of a sexual assault advisory committee.

With 15 million members and over 47,000 churches, the Southern Baptist Convention is the nation's largest Protestant denomination. But the SBC's structure as a voluntary association of autonomous churches has hindered past efforts at fighting sexual abuse.

At the denomination's annual meeting in 2008, the executive committee said local church autonomy made it impossible to implement a database of abusers, an idea that survivors and their supporters had been advocating. Critics accused the denomination of using the structure as an excuse not to act.

But on Monday, Greear said Southern Baptists needed to "repent of appealing to autonomy as a cover-up for lack of accountability."

He said the advisory group was studying the possibility of a database but that the subject is complicated.

"Just because we are not announcing any plans regarding a database tonight does not mean that we are not doing everything we can to evaluate it as an option," he said.

Greear also said the denomination should kick out churches that show "wanton disregard for sexual abuse and for caring for the survivors" and suggested an investigation of 10 churches that have been identified in media reports as covering up abuse.

The Nashville-based denomination already kicks out churches that affirm homosexuality or call female pastors.

Greear, who is a pastor at The Summit Church in Durham, said if there had been news stories of Southern Baptist churches performing gay weddings, the denomination would take action "because our position is clear.

"We must make it clear that our position on abuse is not up for debate."

He said a constitutional amendment is already in the works.

The emotional meeting began with a personal appeal from the executive committee Chairman Mike Stone, a pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia. Stone showed a photograph of himself as a young boy on screens in the auditorium as he told the members of the committee, with his voice quavering at times, that he was abused as a boy, although not in a Southern Baptist church.

"That boy needs you to take the next steps in confronting this evil," he said. "He's asking you to take bigger and bolder steps than you've ever taken in the past."

(Copyright ©2019 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SBC President on sexual abuse: ‘the world is watching’

Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear told denominational leaders in a meeting Monday night that sexual abuse is “not a fabricated story” with an agenda, according to Baptist Press.

"It is time for change,” Greear said at a meeting of the SBC Executive Committee in Nashville. “The world is watching."

A study committee reported that an SBC database of offenders should be considered, discussed and evaluated. The idea was rejected by SBC Executive Committee more than a decade ago, in 2008.

The study committee was formed in July and had been looking at the issue prior to the publication last week of an investigation by two Texas newspapers that detailed hundreds of cases of abuse in Southern Baptist churches.

Some Southern Baptist churches have "ignored" or "silenced" victims, Greear said.

The SBC's culture needs to change, he said.

"We've got to look deeply at our culture," see how abuse has been allowed and make sure it doesn't happen again, Greear said.

“Our goal is for our response to abuse to match the Gospel we proclaim with our mouths,” he said. “The Gospel declares Jesus laid down His life for the vulnerable. We need to defend them.”

Greear, pastor at The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., announced a Sexual Abuse Advisory Study in July. More than half of study group is women, Greear said.

Initial recommendations of the study group include calling for repentance "for decades of inaction."

Denominational culture has made abuse, evasion and cover up "far too easy," Greear said.

The SBC also must repent for using local church autonomy as an excuse, he said.

The study group developed a resource entitled "Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused." It is a free 12-lesson training for ministry leaders.

All six seminaries have agreed to incorporate this resource into their curricula, Greear said.

The 10-member team that conducted the study includes Rachael Denhollander, Mika Edmondson, Brad Hambrick, Samantha Kilpatrick, Diane Langberg, Chris Moles, Andrea Munford, Karla Siu, Darby Strickland and Leslie Vernick.

All six seminaries, the officers of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders and all state conventions have agreed to three documents on a "Statement of Principles on Abuse."

Churches, conventions, associations and entities should review their policies on abuse, the study committee recommended. It also recommended requiring background checks for all SBC standing committees and trustee appointments.

The study group recommended Southern Baptists reexamine the ordination process for pastors and deacons.

The 2019 SBC annual meeting June 11-12 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham will address abuse through several programs and resources.

State convention partners and LifeWay should work together to identify additional questions related to abuse that can be added to the Annual Church Profile, the study group said.

The SBC's governing documents should be amended to address the definition of a cooperating church and make clear that churches with "a wanton disregard" for sexual abuse are not in friendly cooperation.

Greear listed specific churches that should be asked to give an answer for their actions related to sexual abuse. The goal is never to disfellowship, he said.

“If we do not get this right, our churches will not be a safe place for the lost,” Greear said.

In 2007, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution urging churches to perform criminal background checks on clergy and employees. The statement also renounced child abusers and those who cover up their actions.

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