Baptists Asked to Crack Down on Abusers
By ROSE FRENCH
Associated Press Writer
February 21, 2007, 4:36 PM EST
A year or so ago
when there was a flood of news articles concerning Roman Catholic priests
sexually molesting children under their care in their parishes – all to many
evangelicals, and fundamentalists and spirit filled Christians rubbed their
hands together with glee – and mocked and scoffed at Roman Catholic believers
for remaining faithful after these revelations – To say this arrogant behavior was displeasing
to the Lord – does not express what I sensed and felt as all these things
transpired. – In the midst of this the
Lord spoke and said that all of this and more was to strike these
self-righteous and self-serving bible believing churches and denominations that
they would be found to have their own gay preachers and teacher, that they
would find their own preachers and teachers were pedophiles and sexual
predators, -- and that these things have been known and kept secret because of
these corrupt and evil preachers
standing and the money that they bring in – and we wrote the that Lord
Himself would be gin to out and expose
these things. First in line was that pastor and lobbyist that was gay and using
illicit drugs as well – the latest I hear he now declares after going a few
weeks to rehab that he is clean and wants
to go back in the ministry and back to his job as a lobbyist.
We also had an
article on an entire Baptist denomination split 50-50 over open acceptance of
gay members and gay ministers
Here now we have
an article speaking to pedophilia and sexual predators as becoming massive
problems in fundamentalist churches --
and their having kept the lid on these things for some time allowing these
predators to move freely from church to church – with none daring to speak the
truth.
God will expose
these and lay all of their evil bare – this is but the opening salvo in God’s
exposing the sin that is in our midst.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The victims' advocates who dogged the Roman Catholic
Church over sex abuse by its clergy have now turned their attention to the
Southern Baptists, accusing America's largest Protestant denomination of also
failing to root out molesters.
The Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has started a
campaign to call attention to alleged sex abuse committed by Southern Baptist
ministers and concealed by churches.
SNAP presented a letter Monday to
Southern Baptist Convention executive committee members in
Church leaders concede there have been some incidents of abuse in Southern
Baptist congregations, but say their hands are tied when it comes to
investigating complaints across the denomination.
Unlike the Catholic Church, with its rigid hierarchy, Baptist churches are
independent. They make their own decisions about hiring ministers and
conducting investigations, Baptist leaders say.
"They don't want to see this problem," said Christa Brown, a SNAP
member from
In the past six months SNAP has received reports of about 40 cases of sexual
abuse by Southern Baptist ministers -- with some of the incidents dating back
many years, Brown said. SNAP leaders hold that abuse is typically underreported
because being molested is such a painful experience that victims often wait
years before stepping forward.
Southern Baptist Convention President Frank Page said the denomination plans to
teach its churches how to conduct background checks, and to require letters of
recommendation for job candidates.
But he said the Southern Baptist Convention, which has 16.3 million members,
does not have the legal authority to create an independent board to investigate
abuse complaints.
"As much as possible within our structure, we're going to assist
churches," Page said. "We're deeply concerned about this. We believe
children are the most precious gifts from God."
Southern Baptists passed a resolution in 2002 urging its churches to discipline
ministers guilty of sexual abuse and to cooperate with authorities in their
prosecution.
But Brown said that's not enough. She says the Southern Baptists need an
independent review board precisely because there's no clear chain of command
among Baptist churches. The SBC also does not keep a list of ministers who have
been accused of abuse. Advocates say this means molesters could move from
church to church.
"I believe kids are not safe in Southern Baptist churches," said
Brown, who runs a Web site called the Voice to Stop Baptist Predators.
One SNAP member, Debbie Vasquez, said she was raped by a Southern Baptist
minister in
Now 48, Vasquez filed a lawsuit last year against the pastor, the Rev. Dale
"Dickie" Amyx and his current church, Bolivar Baptist in Sanger,
Texas, about 45 miles north of Dallas. She claims the church knew, or should
have known, about Amyx's past.
Vasquez says she was raped when Amyx was a minister at the now-defunct
When she became pregnant with Amyx's child at age 18, church leaders forced her
to go before the congregation and ask forgiveness as an unwed mother. But the
congregation was never told it was Amyx's baby. The lawsuit claims Calvary
Baptist helped Amyx get another job at a church in
Amyx acknowledged in court documents that he had a sexual relationship with
Vasquez and was the father of her child.
When reached at home Wednesday, Amyx said he couldn't comment on the case and
referred all questions to his lawyer, James A. Harrison. The attorney did not
return multiple phone calls.
Vasquez said she filed the suit because she fears Amyx could be abusing other
girls and she wants to see him removed from his position.
"In any
denomination where you have these men with this power that's not questioned and
you have these people who are vulnerable ... you're going to have a
problem," Vasquez said.
Philip Jenkins, a professor of religious studies and history at
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"Southern Baptists are massively decentralized compared
to the Catholic Church," he said. "They're independent. It's very
difficult to gauge how many abuses might be occurring within the Southern
Baptist Convention."
Several child sex abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches have surfaced
recently.
Bellevue Baptist, a megachurch near
The church's internal investigation found that church leaders, including
current pastor, the Rev. Steve Gaines, knew about the abuse last year, but did
not act immediately.
The investigation began in December only after the prodding of Williams' son,
who asked Gaines why his father was allowed to continue as a minister even
after leaders had found out about the abuse.
"I accept full responsibility and could have handled this in a more
appropriate way," Gaines told the congregation last month.
In another case, Shawn Davies, a former music and youth minister at the First
Baptist Church of Greenwood, Mo., pleaded guilty last month to molesting boys
ages 12 to 16.
Vasquez says she's seeking damages for medical costs and mental and physical
injury as well as punitive damages.
"They're allowing these men to go from church to church," she said.
"They're not protecting the victims. They're protecting themselves."