Other denominations report abuse charges

BostonGlobe ^ | 7/19/2002 | By Michael Paulson and Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff

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Spurred by heavy publicity over the sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests, several other religious denominations say they are investigating allegations that some of their Massachusetts clergy have sexually abused minors in the past.

Local officials of the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Methodist Church, and the American Baptist Churches say they have recently received allegations against clergy that they are reporting to prosecutors and disclosing to their churches.

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Sex Abuse Spans Spectrum of Churches

[genefromjersey]

But-but-but ...How could this be ???

These aren't Catholic churches !

We'd better skip any Media coverage-page 137, inside column will do...and keep it off the TV news.

[LiteKeeper]

No - but they are all liberal denominations...denominations that question the inerrancy of Scripture, and do not believe that it is necessarily binding on their behavior.

Bill O'Reilly was interviewing a United Methodist minister last night that studies "wife swapping." When Bill asked him if he felt any obligation to tell these people that were being studied tht they were doing wrong, the minister became quite agitated and said, "I am not God's prosecuting attorney. It is not for me to tell them that their sexual outlets are wrong. Some of them acutally believe that it has benefitted their marriages." Bill was, naturally, incredulous. This "minister" did not believe that it was any business of his to make a judgment about these people and their sexual deviancy. And Bill gave him lot's of opportunities to take some responsibility - and he adamantly refused to.

[genefromjersey]

What, then, does one say about sex abuse among the Jehovah's Witnesses-who believe in the " inerrancy of scripture " so strongly, they refuse transfusions-even in life and death emergencies ?

I doubt there is much difference between one set of clergy or another when it comes to actual abuse.I suspect the difference is more in how it is handled.

When a religious group has a highly centralized hierarchy, with attendant sets of "management goals", "promotion opportunities", etc., I think you are likely to find more cover-up : first of ordinary shortcomings ; later, of truly horrendous acts.Bureaucracies-regardless of original intent or purpose, tend to take on a life of their own...not always for the better.

By the way, I was raised to accept the " in-errant scripture " taught in the Catholic Church, but rejected it by the time I reached 20. I studied others' doctrines, and found them something other than in-errant, to my way of thinking...