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   From: KILLKIKES@Systemic_Patrriotism.org   
      
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   Southern Baptist Convention Names 700 Pastors Accused Of Sexual Abuse   
      
   Pastor Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive   
   Committee, said denomination leaders must be "very mindful that the world   
   is watching" their response to a scathing report revealing efforts to cover   
   up sexual abuse by SBC clergy.   
      
      
   ACROSS AMERICA  The Southern Baptist Convention's governing body late   
   Thursday released a secretly maintained list of about 700 pastors credibly   
   accused of sexual abuse, the churchs governing body said Wednesday.   
      
   The document dump comes in response to a bombshell report Sunday from an   
   independent investigator that said the top leaders of the Southern Baptist   
   Convention stonewalled and denigrated sexual abuse victims for two decades   
   to protect their own reputations and remained singularly focused on   
   avoiding liability for the church.   
      
   The release of the names is a public repudiation of the way leaders at the   
   nations largest Protestant denomination have responded to allegations of   
   sexual abuse in the past. In doing so, the SBCs top leaders said theyre   
   committed to listening more attentively to survivors of clergy sexual   
   abuse.  Read the full list of accused clergy.   
      
   "This list is being made public for the first time as an initial, but   
   important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and   
   implementing reform in the Convention, " the SBC Executive Committee said   
   in a statement on its website. "Each entry in this list reminds us of the   
   devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse. Our prayer is   
   that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that   
   churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the   
   most vulnerable among us. "   
      
   The denomination also released the full report of the investigation   
   conducted by Guidepost Solutions on its handling of sexual abuse   
   allegations. It's available on the website, too.   
      
   In a joint statement with Guidepost, the SBC Executive Committee said it is   
   creating a hotline for sexual abuse survivors that will be an important   
   stopgap measure until more meaningful reform can be addressed at the   
   denomination's annual meeting in Anaheim, California, next month.   
      
   Gene Besen, the interim executive committee counsel, said in a statement   
   after the meeting that the prompt release of the names is in the Southern   
   Baptist Conventions best interests.   
      
   Its important, it is of immediate concern to the public and to the survivor   
   committee, and we need to do it right away, he said.   
      
   In an interview with The New York Times, Besen said that moving quickly   
   means that some accused pastors names may be redacted because the claims   
   couldnt be substantiated by news reports and other sources, but researchers   
   may put them back on the list as more facts are known.   
      
   We have become too familiar with using techniques to slow processes down,   
   Ed Litton, president of the SBCs Executive Committee said, according to an   
   account in Christianity Today of the decision to release the names of   
   credibly accused pastors. We need to be very mindful that the world is   
   watching, and they dont need to see business as usual... we have to do this   
   right.   
      
   Related: Top Southern Baptists Stonewalled Sex Abuse Victims, Report Says   
      
   Under the business as usual practice, victims of sexual abuse and   
   congregants who supported them repeatedly shared allegations of sexual   
   abuse with top church leaders, only to be met, time and time again, with   
   resistance, stonewalling and even outright hostility by some Executive   
   Committee members, according to the nearly 300-page report.   
      
   Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders,   
   along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC's response to these   
   reports of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for   
   the SBC, the report said, continuing:   
      
   In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were   
   ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could   
   take no action due to its policy regarding church autonomy  even if it   
   meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or   
   warning to their current church or congregation.   
      
   Survivors of abuse, both congregants and seminary students, have long   
   pressed the denomination to release the list of clergy credibly accused of   
   sexual abuse. The list was maintained for about a decade by an Executive   
   Committee staff member who turned it over to the Executive Committees   
   former vice president and general counsel.   
      
   The investigator found no indication that anyone took any action to ensure   
   that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC   
   churches.   
      
   The Associated Press contributed reporting.   
      
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