Now it's Two Conservative Christian Denominations Struggling to Deal With Sexual Abuse by their Clergy While Catholics are Still Dealing With it

Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Rejects Sexual Abuse Solotions, Female Clergy 

There is a whole lot of concern, much of it based on false presumptions, about how America's youth are being "groomed" to accept sexual perversion.  But here is yet another Christian denomination dealing with a huge, and relatively under-reported problem, of sexual abuse by pastors, church staff members and volunteers in churches.  Routine background checks aren't enough to stop what is, by the numbers being reported, an epidemic in churches.  We've had the scandal perpetuated by Catholic clergy for decades just now coming to light.  In 2019, the scope of sexual abuse of women in the Southern Baptist Convention was exposed by The Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express News, resulting in a reluctant investigation and slow progress in coming to a resolution of the problem.  

Now, the PCA, Presbyterian Church in America, has turned down possible solutions for dealing with the problem in their churches, and, like the Southern Baptists, decided to make their headlines in a different way.  They rejected, yes rejected four proposals to curb the sexual abuse problem they are facing, which is apparently at least as bad, propotionately, to that of the Southern Baptists, which was a slap in the face to the victims of abuse in their churches.  Then, one slap was apparently not enough.  They went ahead and approved, on the first try, a proposal forbidding women to serve in churches using the title "pastor," "deacon," or "elder".  

It seems that the better way to protect children from "grooming," and from outright abuse, is to keep them away from the Catholic Church, Southern Baptist churches and conservative, PCA Presbyterian churches.  Could it be that the attitude the leadership of these denominations is displaying about the sexual abuse happening in their churches, in which over 80% of the victims are women, is directly connected to their attitude rejecting the spiritual leadership of women in their churches?  

A few invididuals, and at least one organized "faction" among Southern Baptists is grumbling and muttering about churches calling female staff members and giving them responsibility for pastoral leadership as some kind of "slippery slope feminism" beginning to manifest itself in some churches.  And there's been some open insinuation that the women who were victims of abuse in Southern Baptist churches who have come forward and exposed their abusers are doing so as a way to push this feminism into the denomination.  A few have suggested that the investigation into sexual abuse in the SBC is a satanic attack on "good men preaching the gospel."  

What this is, plain and simple, is old fashioned misogyny.  These women in the churches where this is happening are not feminists, by any stretch of the imagination.  They are victims of attitudes fostered by ignorance based on cultural biases leading to the complete mis-interpretation of the scriptures.  

This isn't just about the abuse itself, which is bad enough.  It is also about the manner in which the victims have been treated afterward.  In both denominations, survivors of abuse have related horror stories about being accused of causing the abuse themselves, doubting their integrity and their truthfulness.  In the PCA, when accusations are made before the church court, it has been reported that presbyteries put survivors through a "procedural grinder" that some say was worse than the abuse itself.  In one high profile case in the Southern Baptist convention, a victim reported being "broken down" by a seminary official from the perspective that her abuser may not have been entirely at fault.  

And in all three denominations, since no female clergy are allowed, whenever there is a reported case of sexual abuse, the church officials responsible for handling it will always be men.  That includes any pastoral counseling and follow up to minister to the victims.  In many cases, the lack of professional training is appalling, and the victims are treated as pariahs.  At this year's Southern Baptist Convention, during a break-out session designed to help churches minister to victims of abuse, a victim testified that she was treated as an outcast by the church leadership, put through the whole spectrum of emotions and made to feel guilty about "causing" the abuse while her abuser was allowed to go through a relatively quick process of "repentance and restoration" and was welcomed back into the church.  

It's the far right element in these churches and denominations, influenced by secular, right wing politics and the bigotry that accompanies it, that is causing somthing that should be taken seriously to be turned into another "us vs. them" intrusion of feminism, or a tool of some other liberal ideology to take over the churches.  The problem is that the far right political element is the real spiritual enemy, and is, as the Apostle Jude called it, an "intrusion of licentiousness" into the church, preventing it from functioning in its ministry and hujacking it for political purposes. 

There is no light at the end of the tunnel in the now decades long abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.  Parish after parish, diocese after diocese has long lists of victims abused by clergy, and long lists of clergy who committed abuse.  The lawsuits and settlements are endless.  As Southern Baptists have finally taken a few steps toward resolving the abuse problem in their denomination, after fighting over who would do the investigation and finally having the messengers at the annual meeting themselves override the wishes of the leadership and opt for an outside investigative firm, it has been discovered that hundreds of cases of abuse reported to executive leaders at the SBC offices in Nashville, and in its state convention affiliates, were never investigated at all, and were simply held in file cabinets.  Leaders claimed that the "independence and autonomy" of the churches prevented further action, though that same "independence and autonomy" was something they were more than willing to set aside in order to impose their ban on women serving in pastoral ministry.  

Apparently, PCA has also been stymied in its ability to figure out what to do.  But they, too, showed no hesitation at all when it came to banning women from pastoral ministry.  And what these actions show is that there is really no spiritual leadership, no dependence on God, no attention being paid to what they claim they believe is his written, authoritative, inerrant, infallible word.  

For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder!  Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is not strange if his ministers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds.--The Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 

NOTE:  Within the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church in America are genuine Christians who have been rightly grieved by what has been done under their roof and in their name.  Their appointed and elected leadership, because of the obstacles presented by their rigid approach to doctrine and practice, has prevented them from acting in a manner wholly consistent with their belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, centered in the Bible, and their reliance on prayer, which brings the presence of God's Holy Spirit and true healing and peace.  There are those, in all three of these denominations, who are geniunely caring for victims of abuse, working to reform bad policies and practices which cover it up, allow abusers to be passed on to the next unwitting congregation and who treat the victims as second class members.  

At the SBC's meetings in 2021 and 2022, in Nashville and Anaheim, respectively, messengers themselves overwhelmingly forced unwilling leadership to give up their grip on power and wrested responsibility for handling the sexual abuse crisis in their denomination away from the bureaucrats, putting it in the hands of a task force which includes three women, one an attorney, the other two with extensive counseling experience in the area of sexual abuse.  Among the other members of the group include a pastor who has been actively engaged in racial reconciliation, a pastor who is a certified sexual abuse counselor, and the other members are pastors who have led the movement to take this away from the bureaucracy and put it in the hands of competent, caring people.  It has taken a while to get it to this point, five years since the newpapers first exposed the depth of the crisis, but it is now in the hands of a group that is not part of the denominational power structure, bureacracy and "good ole boy club,".  

Within the Catholic Church, there is a clear movement involving clergy and members to clean up the problem instead of nipping around the edges to protect the church finances.  Some Catholics realize that restoring victims to their faith is more important than avoiding lawsuits or hiding problems under the rug, so to speak.  They, too, are taking responsibilty for the emotional health of victims of abuse in the church.  And of course, since many of the victims aren't inclined to turn to the church for help, since their experience has been anything but helpful, much of this has to be done by reaching out and working outside the boundaries defined by ministry.  

The two churches that were stripped of their affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention because of having women serving in pastoral ministries are moving forward.  Saddleback Valley Church, in Orange County, California, was already the largest church in the Southern Baptist Convention, and this has been hardly a blip on the radar screen as far as its ministry is concerned.  It succeeds because it focuses on a Christian mission and purpose, and its leadership has wisely avoided engaging in politics, leaving that up to each member.  Fern Creek is in a place where members from oppressed--and I use that term intentionally--churches will find their way to its doorstep.  There are several churches in the Louiville area that cut ties with the SBC over its credalism of the past couple of decades, who have women in pastoral ministry roles in their church and several others, still affiliated with the SBC, on the "hit list" for action at the next convention, who say they will make no changes to the way they do ministry.  Both churches already have company among a growing group of former Southern Baptist churches who have voluntarily severed ties and which have experienced no ill effects as a result.