Was Charles Thomas Listed in SBC Abuse Investigation Report?
Charles Thomas, pastor of Foothill Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, California, admitted to sexually abusing a teenage girl in 2001.
List of Southern Baptist Abusers
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was released on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The report contains horrifying brand-new specifics regarding certain abuse circumstances and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively fought abuse prevention and change for many years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have announced a substantial and independent third-party investigation that revealed that abusers were frequently ignored, forgotten, or perhaps admonished by high-level congregation officials from within this religious denomination of larger than 16 million individuals. Moreover, it exposed these leaders often lied to their own members to prevent them from understanding the widespread sexual misbehavior.
Read more about the List of Southern Baptist Abusers
A History of Ignored Mishandling
For almost 2 decades, survivors who were sexually assaulted tried to get in touch with the administration of the Southern Baptist Convention in relation to the preachers and church workers. Nearly all of these revealed incidents fell beyond the SOL, making it uncertain exactly how many sexual predators were in fact incriminated. According to the document, a secret list was kept. Nonetheless, survivors’ cries for justice went unheeded as leaders from organizations and churches tried to protect themselves rather than those who have actually been taken advantage of by sexual assault.
One victim described being treated with hostility as she claimed she was sexually abused by a youth pastor. The implicated pastor served in multiple Southern Baptist churches in numerous states. During a meeting with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Executive Board “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Accountability in the Baptist Convention
Russell Moore, the previous head of the SBC’s policy arm, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, stated ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The Report shows a trend of stonewalling, intimidation, coverup, and retaliation.” He hopes this document will bring much-needed change and hold those responsible for their sexual assault.
The report states that a principal Southern Baptist leader was credibly implicated of sexual abuse no more than one month after completing his two-year stretch as the convention’s president. The report likewise names three prior presidents of the convention, a previous vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative council as prominent SBC leaders who aided in covering up and actually motivated presumed abusers.
He hopes this report will be the catalyst for much-needed reform and hold those accountable for their horrific acts of abuse.
For information about sexual abuse cases in Oakland, CA, visit this page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/california/sexual-abuse-lawyer-oakland-ca/
Abuse Guardian for California
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