ElNono
08-13-2022, 05:39 AM
Southern Baptist Convention under federal investigation for sexual abuse scandal
Federal investigators are probing the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of sexual abuse following the publication of an explosive report (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php) that found top officials had for two decades silenced abuse survivors (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/sbc-southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-christa-brown-17205214.php) and fought reforms out of fears of lawsuits, leaders of the nation’s second-largest faith group said on Friday.
In a statement, the SBC’s top leadership body, the Executive Committee, confirmed that the Department of Justice is looking into “multiple” Southern Baptist entities.
The statement was signed by all of the leaders of the SBC’s seminaries and main entities. They said they will cooperate fully with the criminal investigation and “continue to grieve and lament past mistakes.” Leaders also noted that the faith group has taken numerous steps towards rectifying the abuse problem in the wake of a 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. “Individually and collectively, each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” the SBC’s Nashville-based Executive Committee said in a statement. The Executive Committee received a federal subpoena from the Justice Department, but no individuals have yet been subpoenaed.
Justice Department officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Federal-officials-investigating-Southern-Baptist-17369754.php
Federal investigators are probing the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of sexual abuse following the publication of an explosive report (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php) that found top officials had for two decades silenced abuse survivors (https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/sbc-southern-baptist-sexual-abuse-christa-brown-17205214.php) and fought reforms out of fears of lawsuits, leaders of the nation’s second-largest faith group said on Friday.
In a statement, the SBC’s top leadership body, the Executive Committee, confirmed that the Department of Justice is looking into “multiple” Southern Baptist entities.
The statement was signed by all of the leaders of the SBC’s seminaries and main entities. They said they will cooperate fully with the criminal investigation and “continue to grieve and lament past mistakes.” Leaders also noted that the faith group has taken numerous steps towards rectifying the abuse problem in the wake of a 2019 investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. “Individually and collectively, each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” the SBC’s Nashville-based Executive Committee said in a statement. The Executive Committee received a federal subpoena from the Justice Department, but no individuals have yet been subpoenaed.
Justice Department officials couldn’t be reached for comment.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Federal-officials-investigating-Southern-Baptist-17369754.php