The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has released an internal database of sexual abusers and sexual assault defendants within the church ranks, as promised earlier this week.
The 205-page list contains hundreds of entries of alleged and convicted cases of sexual abuse perpetrated by pastors and officials of the Southern Baptist Denomination, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
The cases cover mostly from 2000 to 2019, but many of the entries have been drafted.
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When the SBC executive committee announced that they would publish the database, they specified that the names of survivors, witnesses and church staff who had “unconfirmed allegations of sexual abuse” against them would be removed from the list. , according to Gene Besen, the committee’s interim director.
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Many of the unwritten entries are for church officials who have already been convicted and are on sex offender records. Some people who saw the list went to Twitter to express their frustration because many of the cases that were not drafted can be easily searched online and do not reveal any new information.
One commenter joked, “Thank you for the transparency of this very well-written document.” Another claimed that a list like this could easily be collective.
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The SBC issued a statement along with the database: “We are publishing the list in the exact manner in which it was provided,” and clarified its drafting criteria.
“In drafting decisions, the Executive Committee’s attorney included, in its entirety, entries referring to an admission, confession, conviction, conviction, trial, sentence, or inclusion in a sex offender registry. “The only exception to these entries is the wording of the names or identifying information of survivors and / or other persons unrelated to the offender.”
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The statement was written by Willie McLaurin, interim president and CEO, and Rolland Slade, president of the SBC.
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The two also noted that the publication of the previously secret database is an “initial but important step in tackling the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing a reform of the Convention.” recalls the devastation and destruction caused by sexual abuse. “
“Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts will find hope and healing, and that the churches will use this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.”
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Statement on the publication of a list of alleged aggressors:
List: pic.twitter.com/lXAktGl7ob
– SBC Executive Committee (@SBCExecComm) May 27, 2022
The decision to make the database public was made during a virtual meeting that was convened in response to an explosive investigation report released Sunday. The 288-page report followed a seven-month investigation that revealed widespread cover-ups and mismanagement of allegations of sexual abuse by key church members.
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The report detailed how SBC former vice-president August Boto and SBC spokesman Roger Oldham kept their own private list of abusive pastoralists. According to the report, the list contains 703 names of church aggressors. Both Boto and Oldham retired in 2019.
“Despite collecting these reports for more than 10 years, there is no indication that (Oldham and Boto) or anyone else has taken any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in power in SBC churches “, says the report. which was compiled by Guidepost Solutions, an independent research firm that works with religious organizations.
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It is unclear how many members of the SBC committee knew about the internal list, but the report detailed that some “knew of the existence of sexual abuse allegations related to Southern Baptist for many years.”
During the virtual meeting, Besen said the committee intends to “review the unfounded allegations and, if more can be justified, we will also drop them.”
A direct line of survivors, run by Guidepost, has been opened so that people can report more allegations of abuse. You can contact the hotline at 202-864-5578 or SBChotline@guidepostsolutions.com.
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Guidepost wrote that callers “will be notified of available care options and contact an advocate,” noting that the hotline is a “temporary measure” until a more meaningful reform can be passed. at the annual SBC meeting in Anaheim. Caliph.
The SBC also set up a working group on sexual abuse that will make formal recommendations on reform during the June 14-15 annual meeting, according to Pastor Bruce Frank, who led the working group.
McLaurin issued a formal apology to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of SBC pastors. There are more than 47,000 churches in the SBC.
“We mourn the survivors for everything we have done to cause pain and frustration,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. We need to be proactive in our openness and transparency from now on. ”
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