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A28 u.s News
Dialuna 23 Mei 2022
Report: Top Southern Baptists stonewalled sex abuse victims

By DEEPA BHARATH, outside counsel, largely con- the third-party review. SBC
HOLLY MEYER and DA- trolled the EC’s response President Ed Litton, pastor of
VID CRARY to these reports of abuse ... Redemption Church in Sara-
Associated Press and were singularly focused land, Alabama, appointed the
Leaders of the South- on avoiding liability for the panel.
ern Baptist Convention, SBC,” the report said. Executive Committee mem-
America’s largest Protes- “In service of this goal, sur- bers have had a week to re-
tant denomination, stone- vivors and others who re- view the report before it was
walled and denigrated sur- ported abuse were ignored, publicly released Sunday
vivors of clergy sex abuse disbelieved, or met with the afternoon. The task force’s
over almost two decades constant refrain that the SBC recommendations based on
while seeking to protect could take no action due to Guidepost’s findings will be
their own reputations, ac- its polity regarding church presented at the SBC’s an-
cording to a scathing 288- autonomy – even if it meant nual meeting in Anaheim on
page investigative report that convicted molesters con- June 14-15.
issued Sunday. tinued in ministry with no In February, the Executive
notice or warning to their — Form an independent requested by the survivor. Committee offered a public
These survivors, and other current church or congrega- commission and later estab- The sex abuse scandal was apology and a confidential
concerned Southern Baptists, tion,” the report added. lish a permanent administra- thrust into the spotlight in monetary settlement to sex-
2019 by a landmark report
tive entity to oversee compre-
repeatedly shared allegations SBC President Ed Litton, ual abuse survivor Jennifer
with the SBC’s Executive in a statement Sunday, said hensive long-term reforms from the Houston Chronicle Lyell, who was mischaracter-
concerning sexual abuse and and San Antonio Express-
Committee, “only to be met, he is “grieved to my core” ized by the denomination’s
time and time again, with re- for the victims and thanked related misconduct within News documenting hun- in-house news service when
dreds of cases in Southern
the SBC.
sistance, stonewalling, and God for their work propel- she decided to go public with
even outright hostility from ling the SBC to this moment. —Create and maintain an Baptist churches, including her story in March 2019.
several in which alleged per-
Offender Information Sys-
some within the EC,” said He called on Southern Bap- Lyell publicly disclosed that
the report. tists to lament and prepare to tem to alert the community petrators remained in minis- she was a sexual abuse sur-
to known offenders.
try.
The seven-month inves- change the denomination’s vivor after learning the man
tigation was conducted by culture and implement re- — Provide a comprehensive Last year, thousands of del- she accused of abuse, a for-
Resource Toolbox including egates at the national SBC
Guidepost Solutions, an in- forms. mer Southern Baptist semi-
dependent firm contracted “I pray Southern Baptists will protocols, training, educa- gathering sent the message nary professor, had recently
that they did not want the
tion, and practical informa-
by the Executive Committee begin preparing today to take returned to ministry. She
after delegates to last year’s deliberate action to address tion. Executive Committee to said she came forward with
oversee an investigation of
—Restrict the use of nondis-
national meeting pressed for these failures and chart a new her story to prevent the man
an independent probe. course when we meet togeth- closure agreements and civil its own actions. Instead they from engaging in further
settlements which bind sur-
voted overwhelmingly to
“Our investigation revealed er in Anaheim,” Litton said abusive acts.q
that, for many years, a few Among the key recommen- vivors to confidentiality in create the task force charged
sexual abuse matters, unless with providing oversight of
senior EC leaders, along with dations in the report:
2 dead; northern Michigan town cleans up from rare tornado
By ED WHITE do, which was rated an EF3 doesn’t have tornado sirens, tornado significantly dam- who live in those homes.”
Associated Press by the National Weather Ser- though anyone with a mobile aged her house, said son John Boris of the weather
Roofs and walls on a busy vice on a scale of 0-5. phone got a “code red” warn- Steve Wisniewski, who lives service post in Gaylord said
business stretch were “There have been trailers ing from the weather service next door. the tornado passed through
turned to tangled rubble. picked up and turned over on about 10 minutes before the “Luckily she was OK — ro- the community in about
Mobile homes were de- top of each other. Just a very tornado hit, Carroll said. sary in hand,” he said from a three minutes but was on
stroyed. Tornadoes are so large debris field,” said Chris Video posted online showed a ladder while attaching plas- the ground in the region for
uncommon in northern Martin, Otsego County fire dark funnel cloud approach- tic to his windows. “She was 26 minutes — a “fairly long”
Michigan that Gaylord chief. Martin said crews used ing as anxious drivers looked praying. Pretty amazing.” time.
doesn’t have a siren sys- heavy equipment to conduct on or slowly drove away on Gaylord Police Chief Frank “We don’t get a whole lot of
tem to warn people about a secondary search of the area roads. Claeys said the immediate tornadoes,” said Boris, a sci-
hazardous weather. area. “Everyone in Michigan is go- moments after the tornado ence and operations officer.
He said there’s “probably ing to wrap our arms around were tough for first respond- “In the state of Michigan, in
The town of 4,200 turned to 95% destruction in there.” those families and everyone ers. general, we typically average
cleanup Saturday, a day after a Gaylord, about 230 miles who is working together to “We were searching in places about 15 or so (a year) and
tornado with 140 mph winds (370 kilometers) northwest recover here,” Michigan Lt. where we knew the occu- more of those are downstate
pummeled Gaylord, killing of Detroit, is a popular des- Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said pants. We were calling them than they are up to the north.
two people, injuring more tination for skiers and snow- during a visit. out by name,” Claeys said. It’s pretty unusual.”Indeed,
than 40 and shocking resi- mobilers in the winter and Betty Wisniewski, 87, avoid- “It’s a lot more personal when the last notable windstorm
dents who are more familiar golfers in the summer. It ed injury even though the our officers know the people was in 1998 when 100 mph
with snowstorms than spring straight-line winds raked
windstorms. Gaylord.
A utility reported much prog- Boris said warm, 80-degree
ress in restoring electricity, air earlier Friday and strong
though thousands still lacked winds moving east across
power. Some roads remained Lake Michigan were key
clogged with downed poles conditions producing the
and other wreckage. tornado.
“We have a lot of debris to A link to climate change
clear,” said state police Lt. probably doesn’t fit, he said.
Derrick Carroll. “It’s very difficult to attribute
Two people in their 70s who something very specific like
lived at the Nottingham For- this to a large-scale signal like
est mobile home park died, that,” Boris said. “If we had
state police said. It was among these more frequently, that
the first sites hit by the torna- may be a signal.”q