When Jason Berry of the National Catholic Reporter first reported on the systemic sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church and the coverup by church hierarchy, he anticipated the story would become international news and finally bring an end to the atrocities. He expected public outrage over the abhorrent nature and Watergate-esque scale of the crimes. What he did not expect was the story to die on the vine.
The abuse, in fact, was allowed to continue unabated until the Boston Globe Spotlight investigations finally got the world’s attention 15 years later. It is yet to be seen whether the church can be made to take responsibility for the suicides, pain, and suffering of victims and their families.
Too often we discover that the most egregious sexual criminal activities have been committed by Christian leaders and covered up by their leadership and attorneys. Sadly, these activities often go uninvestigated or unreported.
Even when the abuse is acknowledged, the matter is handled internally, and many abusers were simply transferred to a different location. Churches have proven incapable of holding themselves accountable, resulting in a continuing cycle of abuse, all while gaslighting the public with false accusations against the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
Think about that. In what world is it ok to commit sexual abuse of children, cover it up, and not be behind bars? We’re talking about hundreds and likely thousands of predators and their enablers still free, and many in the same jobs that gave them the access and power they had before. Unbelievable.
And it’s not just a Catholic Church problem. One of the more recent examples of widespread sexual abuse in Christian churches involves the Southern Baptist Convention (S.B.C.), the nation’s second largest faith group after the Catholic church. Much like the Catholic church, the S.B.C. has a long history of child sexual abuse and cover-up that extends to its top leaders.
It was only after a third-party investigation by Guidepost Solutions that the S.B.C. finally acknowledged its role in the cover up. The S.B.C. provided a list that included “hundreds of Baptist leaders and members accused or found guilty of sexual abuse of children, including 700 entries on cases between two thousand and twenty nineteen.” A cover-up of massive proportions, all while their lawyers fought for years to shield the S.B.C. from liability.
In twenty seventeen, a lawsuit was filed against Paul Pressler, a leader in the S.B.C. for over 50 years. The lawsuit alleged that Pressler was a sexual predator, a fact he recently admitted under oath, and led to the “Abuse of Faith” investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
What also came to light was that former Harris County Republican Party Chair, Jared Woodfill, was aware of the allegations against Pressler, yet continued to provide him with young, male personal assistants. Three of those assistants ended up coming forward to hold Pressler accountable for sexual abuse and misconduct.
Woodfill is currently running for a Texas House seat, and received an endorsement by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both Woodfill and Paxton have made careers out of falsely accusing the L.G.B.T.Q. community of sexual predation and grooming. All while their own close associate actually committed those crimes, for decades, as a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention. You can’t make this up.
One of the most sobering realizations of both the victims and journalists investigating sexual abuse in churches was that the institutions may never truly be held accountable. And that lack of accountability means the abuses are likely to continue unabated into the future.
To start, here are a few of the egregious abuses for which I intend to hold organized religions accountable:
- Creating institutions that seem to cater to and protect sexual predators,
- Indoctrinating generations of young people with an ideology that has no basis in fact, yet professes to be absolute truth, and
- Attempting to erase those whose very existence stands in defiance to “irrefutable” church doctrine.
So what can we do about it? Well, for one thing, it’s time to take accountability for the role we play in all this.
Are we supporting the very churches and institutions that commit these offenses? How much do you really know about your church and its hierarchy? What have they done in the past and what are they being investigated for today? Have they been held accountable? Can you trust them to provide a safe space for your kids?
What about your church’s doctrine. Are you ok with their position on women’s bodily autonomy and the L.G.B.T.Q. community?
And what do they do with your tithes and donations?
Does your church operate a private school? If so, you’re donations may be contributing to the indoctrination of future generations with medieval views on women’s rights and L.G.B.T.Q. identities.
Does your church own and operate hospitals and other health systems? If so, you’re financially supporting an organization that establishes its standard of care from interpretations of religious doctrine that has zero basis in fact. Remember, the Catholic Church is the world’s largest non-government healthcare provider.
It’s time to do something about it.
Are you ready?
This is Peter Tchoryk. Sign up on this site to receive updates on the Scientific Rebellion. If podcasts are your thing, please check out our Scientific Rebel podcasts.