Eight Missouri ministers accused of sex abuse in Southern Baptist Convention report • Missouri Independent

The Southern Baptist Conference on Thursday released a once-secret and prolonged checklist of accused sex abusers — a number of of whom are in the Midwest — throughout the denomination.

The 205-page listing is a compilation of ministers and other church workers who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. The list is described as a “fluid, working doc” that was additionally incomplete however largely pulls details about abusers from printed information experiences.

The publication of the record comes after the release Sunday of a 300-page report by an impartial investigator that described how leaders of the Southern Baptist denomination for many years have received stories of sexual abuse committed by church staff, pastors and others. But those stories had been largely kept secret and, slightly than performing upon and investigating studies of sexual abuse, denomination leaders sought to intimidate and vilify victims and their advocates.

“The entire thing ought to be seen for what it is,” wrote former Southern Baptist Convention govt committee member and common counsel D. August Boto in an internal e mail that was printed within the report. “It’s a satanic scheme to completely distract us from evangelism.”

The disaster rocking the Southern Baptist denomination this week is similar in some ways to what the Catholic church continues to face. Leaders in each faiths systematically hid information about sexual misconduct, appeared to show more concern about their own legal legal responsibility than the victims and at times did not expel accused abusers from positions of authority.

In 2007, Father Thomas Doyle, a Catholic priest credited as one of many first to warn of his own denomination’s clergy intercourse abuse disaster, wrote a letter to SBC management conveying his concern that Southern Baptist leaders have been repeating the failures of the Catholic church in coping with intercourse abuse.

Doyle was advised, “Southern Baptist leaders really haven't any authority over local churches,” a response that Doyle thought to be dismissive, in response to the investigative report. 

That very same year, on the SBC conference in San Antonio, Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson made a motion to create a database of Southern Baptist clergy who had been convicted or credibly accused of, or had confessed to sexual abuse. The proposal was meant to “help in preventing any future sexual abuse or harassment.”

The database proposal appeared to go nowhere, according to the report, and witnesses at the convention recalled little about it besides to express their opinion that it will “violate local church autonomy.”

Ultimately, a staffer for the SBC government committee since 2007 had maintained a list of accused ministers and church workers, however it was stored hidden from the general public and even SBC govt committee trustees, in line with the report.

Southern Baptist leaders stated publicizing the checklist of credibly accused abusers represented “an initial, but vital, step in direction of addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform within the Convention.”

“Every entry on this checklist reminds us of the devastation and destruction brought about by sexual abuse,” stated a joint statement from Willie McLaurin and Rolland Slade, each SBC govt committee members. “Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts discover hope and healing, and that churches will make the most of this checklist proactively to protect and look after probably the most weak amongst us.”

Lawyers for the SBC government committee researched the checklist of accused abusers, taking steps to confirm information it contained. It left unredacted entries about alleged abusers that could possibly be confirmed, whereas redacting entries where somebody was acquitted or did not have a remaining disposition, as well as info that would determine victims.

Missouri men function prominently on the checklist. They embody:

This story comes from the Midwest Newsroom, an investigative journalism collaboration including IPR, KCUR 89.3, Nebraska Public Media News, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR. For extra in-depth news from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, we invite you to follow us on Twitter.