Because of the Protestant Reformers Beliefs On Mary

Back when I first joined YIMCatholic, I was going to write posts about my conversion. I hammered out seven posts in pretty rapid succession and then, I stopped writing them until recently.

Many of my posts now are simply my observations of the world which are colored through the lens of a convert to Catholicism. It would be difficult for them not to be. Other posts I've written are of the "look what I just found!" variety, and the "I want to share this with you" type. Call them the discovery posts if you will.

Recently I gave a talk on the Communion of Saints for my parishes RCIA group. Consequently, I've been answering questions of potential converts that have prompted me to explain my conversion to others.

Basically, this has resulted in my having become a neophyte evangelist of sorts for the Church. And though this blog space isn't the forum for heavy-duty apologetics, because others do that better elsewhere, I have always seen my role here at YIMC as one of evangelizing.

Back to my conversion story, when I was first confronting the idea of becoming a Catholic, I had to look hard at the question "Why am I Protestant?" Having just moved cross-country following my retirement from the Marines, I found out that my mother no longer went to church where we had gone when I was growing up. Instead of the non-denominational church I grew up in (and which we were a founding family of), I learned that she now went to a Presbyterian church instead. Hmmm.

Rather than start visiting all kinds of churches, which appealed to me about as much as shopping for a new car, my family and I kept going to the local Catholic parish in our new town while I did research and home improvement projects. One of the first things I looked into was the problem of Catholics and their obviously misguided devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The funny thing is, I had sat in the pews in the Catholic Church with my wife for close to 18 years and I had never really noticed any wacky or overly zealous devotion to Mary. Not at Mass, anyway, and as we didn't stick around much after the conclusion of Mass, I didn't see anything that made me uncomfortable. Truthfully, I was surprised about this and it's probably a big reason why I continued to sit in the pews with my patient Catholic wife for that long a time.

This didn't stop me from believing that weird Marian devotions were happening though, and I assumed talk of her perpetual virginity was just "crazy talk." Like most, I had no idea what the Immaculate Conception was either and I just thought people were referring to Our Lord's conception. I was ignorant, plain and simple. But I had in mind a mission to correct the wrong religious track that my family was on so I started planning the military campaign to retake the spiritual territory I had ceded to the Church. My first target was what I thought would be the easiest: Mary.

Before I went on my "destroy Marian Devotion" offensive, though, I knew I would have to do a little homework. Planning ahead, you see, I figured the best place to start was with the guys who picked up the Protestant Reformation football and ran with it for touchdowns. Follow the winners Frank, and victory will be yours!

But get this. Much to my surprise, nay, shock(!) I had to throw a penalty flag on myself and look for a different angle of attack. Because what I found out was that the Big Three "Reformers" all agreed with the Catholic Church's teachings on the Mother of God!

Throughout his life Luther maintained without change the historic Christian affirmation that Mary was the Mother of God:

"She is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God ... It is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God."

Again throughout his life Luther held that Mary's perpetual virginity was an article of faith for all Christians - and interpreted Galatians 4:4 to mean that Christ was "born of a woman" alone.

"It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a Virgin."

Yet again the Immaculate Conception was a doctrine Luther defended to his death (as confirmed by Lutheran scholars like Arthur Piepkorn). Like Augustine, Luther saw an unbreakable link between Mary's divine maternity, perpetual virginity and Immaculate Conception. Although his formulation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was not clear-cut, he held that her soul was devoid of sin from the beginning:

"But the other conception, namely the infusion of the soul, it is piously and suitably believed, was without any sin, so that while the soul was being infused, she would at the same time be cleansed from original sin and adorned with the gifts of God to receive the holy soul thus infused. And thus, in the very moment in which she began to live, she was without all sin..."

Although he did not make it an article of faith, Luther said of the doctrine of the Assumption:

"There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know."

Despite his unremitting criticism of the traditional doctrines of Marian mediation and intercession, to the end Luther continued to proclaim that Mary should be honored. He made it a point to preach on her feast days.

"Is Christ only to be adored? Or is the holy Mother of God rather not to be honoured? This is the woman who crushed the Serpent's head. Hear us. For your Son denies you nothing." Luther made this statement in his last sermon at Wittenberg in January 1546.

It has been said that John Calvin belonged to the second generation of the Reformers and certainly his theology of double predestination governed his views on Marian and all other Christian doctrine . Although Calvin was not as profuse in his praise of Mary as Martin Luther he did not deny her perpetual virginity. The term he used most commonly in referring to Mary was "Holy Virgin".

"Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God."

"Helvidius has shown himself too ignorant, in saying that Mary had several sons, because mention is made in some passages of the brothers of Christ." Calvin translated "brothers" in this context to mean cousins or relatives.

"It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor."

"To this day we cannot enjoy the blessing brought to us in Christ without thinking at the same time of that which God gave as adornment and honour to Mary, in willing her to be the mother of his only-begotten Son."

"It was given to her what belongs to no creature, that in the flesh she should bring forth the Son of God."

"I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin." Zwingli used Exodus 4:22 to defend the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity.

"I esteem immensely the Mother of God, the ever chaste, immaculate Virgin Mary."

"The more the honor and love of Christ increases among men, so much the esteem and honor given to Mary should grow."

I remember being blown away by these revelations. I had gone to Christian churches my whole life and I had been told what I was supposed to believe, and I had never been told these things about Mary. I felt a little bit like the fellow wearing tan below, even though I was really acting like the guy wearing black.

And then I thought, "methinks they dost protest too much." And like young Skywalker above, I too leaped with faith and lived to tell the tale. I didn't land on my feet though. Instead, I landed in the lap of Blaise Pascal.

And so began the process of my going back to the Scriptures and to the Church Fathers and back through the history of the Catholic Church, and finally back into the arms of Christ's Church Herself.

To read more about the Protestant Reformers views on the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to track down the footnotes too, head on over to catholicapologetics.info. Head over to Scripture Catholic too, and bring your Bibles. Then head over to the Vatican and look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well.

"So an example of this would be - "

Seattle Post-Intelligencer 3/23/88

The notorious Community Chapel & Bible Training Center, a sect based in Burien, Wash. near suburban Seattle, not only mentally abused children with doctrines of demonology and stunted education in their backward and repressive classrooms, but involved children in sexual abuse, according to reporter Mary Rothchild. The Center, besieged by civil suites by ex-members claiming abuse, including women charging sexual exploitation, recently deposed it founder Rev. Donald Lee Barnett on charges of promiscuous adultery.

In 1986, after followers complained, Child Protective Services met with Burien officials, spelling out guidelines, for example, that the church policy condoning French kissing of children was unacceptable. Three counselors were convicted of failing to report child sexual abuse in 1987.

Florida Times-Union 5/13/88

Rev. Joe Marino, host of Christian talkshow "Inner Visions" in Jacksonville, Fla., and youth minister/counselor at Beaches Chapel in Neptune Beach, plead no contest to custodial sexual battery and soliciting sex from a 16 year old member of his church. Other charges were dropped. The abuse was disclosed after a victim from the church had attempted suicide.A second Duval county minister, Rev. Roy Lynn Gaskins of Edgewood Heights Baptist Church, was accused of forcing a 13 year old boy at gunpoint to have sex.

New York Times 5/23/88

Rev. Thomas Streitferdt, 59, a white Pastor in charge of the mostly black 700-member True Church of God in Harlem, was charged with rape and sodomy of two young sisters (ages 14 and 16) in his congregation. Law enforcement officials charge that Streitferdt told females worshippers that they could end up in hell if they refused his sexual advances, and raped at least one woman during premarital counseling.... Members were told that if they were not buried under church auspices at an additional fee in the church cemetery that "they would not go to heaven."

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer 5/28/88

Rev. Tony ("Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm") Levya, a southern revivalists investigated by the FBI for heading a 3-man ring prostituting young boys, has used Christian radio station WEAM in Columbus, Ga. to raise funds for his defense. Rev. Levya asks his followers to "sacrifice $100, $500, $1,000, $8,000 , even more, if God speaks to you" for his defense.

Federal authorities allege that his crusades gave him and fellow abusers Rias E. Morris, organist, and Rev. Freddie M. Herring opportunity to sexually abuse numerous boys in Virginia, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio and Indiana. He faces up to 65 years in prison and $550,000 in fines.

[Rome] Daily Sentinel 5/28/88

Rev. Leon Dupree, 47, pastor of Lily of the Valley Church of God in Christ in Rochester, NY, is charged with first degree sexual assault and first degree burglary of a 26 year old woman. She said he was armed with a hammer and struck her with a screwdriver. Dupree was convicted of second degree manslaughter in a 1978 drunken driving fatality and served time in state prison.

Tampa Tribune 5/31/88

Rev. Cleveland "Rapper" Mack, 24, of Tampa. Fla., was charged with sexually abusing 2 young boys during "Bible lessons", including a charge of sexual battery which carries a possible death sentence. He struck a boy in the face when he tried to flee.

New York Times 6/10/88

Former Mormon missionary Arthur Gary Bishop, 36, was executed on June 10th in Utah for killing 5 boys (ages 4-13) for sexual gratification, saying he was "misled by Satan."

Little Rock Arkansas Gazette 6/10/88

Rev. J.D. Henderson, 51, of Russellville, Ark., was convicted of molesting twin 6 year old girls, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Henderson is an ordained Free will Baptist minister.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune 6/18/88

Rev. Randall Wayne Brewer, a youth minister of Faith Community Church in West Covina, Calif., is charged with 3 counts of oral copulation with a Redlands teenager who said he was bribed and molested after being befriended at home Bible studies in 1985. The youth, now 17, testified that Brewer gave him $200 from a church checking account for running naked across an empty church hallway in a game called chicken. "I was told to tell everyone that I got the money for doing work at the church."

Philadelphia Inquirer 6/27/88

Richard J. Wagner, 26, a volunteer youth leader at the Warminister Hts. Community Church in Philadelphia, was charged with assaulting a 14 year old boy and 3 others between the ages of 7 and 15 years of age, all part of the church youth program.

Scrantonian Tribune 6/29/88

Rev. Ronald Terry Litz, 50, of Riverside, Penn., sentenced to 2-5 years in jail for morals offences in Luzerne, Co., was sentenced in June to 6-23 months in the Northumberland Co. Prison on similar charges. He pleaded guilty Feb. 4 to 3 counts of corrupting the morals of minors. Litz, former pastor of the Danville Apostolic Church, molested 2 boys at a church camp. His sentences are concurrent.

Dallas Times Herald 6/29/88

Although Rev. Gregory Charles Goben, a 28 year old Southern Baptist minister, often sat in front of his house and read the Bible, he is, according to physical evidence obtained by police, the "Village Rapist" terrorizing Dallas.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune 6/30/88

Rev. John Paul Marlow, pastor of Gospel Tabernacle, Inc. of Bradenton, Florida is accused of assaulting, battering and raping a member of his congregation. Pamela and John R. McLean charged Marlow with assaulting her when she sought psychological and religious counseling. They seek damages of $5,000 plus medical costs and lost wages.

Hamilton Spectator 6/30/88

Rev. Russel Nicolle, 50, an Anglican minister from Elliot Lake, Ontario, received 8 months in jail for "repulsive, disgusting and degraded" sexual abuse of a 12 year old and 16 year old boy. Judge M.C. DiSalle said he "seriously breached" his position of trust as rector of St. Peter the Apostle Anglican Church.

Phoenix Gazette 7/1/88

Rev. James Anthony Colyn, 39, former pastor of the Glendale (Az.) Bible Baptist Church, received a sentence of seven and a half years in prison. Colyn was described by police as a "sexual predator" who molested a teenage girl who asked him for counseling because she was being abused by her stepfather.

Los Angles Times 7/2/88

Gilbert Crowell, 27, commander of the Salvation Army in Burbank and an ordained minister with a wife and 3 children, was convicted on July 1 of molesting 3 girls inside the Army's office. He was convicted of 4 misdemeanor counts of child molestation and two counts of battery but was acquitted by a jury of 7 related charges.

Scranton Times 7/14/88

Rev. Thomas J. Hunt, former pastor of East Benton United Methodist Church, of Scranton, New York, was arrested for molesting a young boy. Rev. Hunt already faces trial for sex crimes against a young girl.

Atlanta Journal 2/18/89

Baptist minister Henry Bazil Waters, 49, was convicted of fondling 3 young boys and untold others at the Grace Baptist Temple Church in Statesboro, Ga., and in his home and car. Waters' testimony that he " saved" youth through " sex instruction " matched testimony of the victims. Waters admitted fondling boys in Latin America, saying " I have no idea " how many children he had abused. Waters was given permission to attend church while free on bond.

Ocala Star-Banner 2/18/89

Paul Slater, 64, a traveling evangelist, was charged with 4 counts of sexual battery after 8 and 12 year old sisters reported being molested and raped by him. Slater, a " trusted neighbor," befriended their family. An investigator said, " We encourage people to listen to what their children have to say. Many of these cases go on for months and years. "

Orange Co. Register 2/28/89

Radio preacher Rev. Fred Kenton Beshore, 63, of Newport Beach, Calif., was charged with influencing the testimony of a witness, a felony. He is accused of phoning the father of a girl reportedly molested by neurosurgeon Dr. Francis Williams, offering him $1,500 a month for 2 years if he would stop his daughter's testimony. Police taped offers. Charges against the neurosurgeon for molesting preteen and adult patients were dropped, but could be reopened. Beshore runs Bible Institute of the Air, buying bibles to smuggle into communist countries.

Intelligencer-Record 3/10/89

A federal sting operation to find child pornographers/molesters yielded 6 arrests in Philadelphia, including Presbyterian minister John McVay, 53. He allegedly solicited sex with 2 girls ages 9 and 12. He was charged with criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviant sexual intercourse. He also sent a 15 year old girl obscene material and a letter soliciting sex.

Sacramento Union 3/18/89

Delaware TV preacher William J. Keichline, 52, known for homeless work, is charged with 3 years of rape, bondage and homemade pornography involving a girl, now aged 10. As her landlord, he threatened to evict her family if she said anything. He was charged with multiple counts by New Castle Co. police. Mission of Care, the 2-state ministry he founded in 1979 -- including a TV show, " camp for needy children," and outreach center -- ousted him following the charges. The group, long affiliated with PTL Club, was honored by the state legislature in 1983 for opening a shelter for 17 homeless people during record cold; however the shelter closed after 4 days for code violations. Keichline is married with 3 grown sons.

New York Times 3/29/89

Evangelist Tony Leyva received a 20 year prison sentence on March 28 for running a child prostitution ring. Federal Dist. Judge James Turk called him and his 2 partners " bad to the core." Leyva was previously sentenced to 2.5 years for sexually abusing 2 boys in Virginia. His religious accomplices Rias Edward Morris 27, got 15 years, and Freddie H. Herring, 50, got 12 years. All were fined $5,000. Agents located at least 30 boys, some as young as 8, molested by Leyva in the past 20 years; some put the total at 800 victims.

Florida Times-Union 4/4/89

James Clifton Nalley, a volunteer at Bible Baptist Church in Fernandina Beach, Fla., was charged with fondling 2 church girls, ages 9 and 11. Church members phoned police after a child reported the abuse.

Scranton Times 4/4/89

Rev. Thomas Hunt was convicted by a jury of sexually abusing a 5 year old girl and her 7 year old brother during visits in the rectory. He was children's choir director at the United Methodist Church in East Benton. The girl had nightmares before visits and asked her mother to make the minister " stop rubbing" Vaseline on her " privates." The boy added, " Believe her, mommy, he did it to me too."

Carmel News- Tribune 4/5/89

Indianapolis music minister Rev. Clayton Duane Heil, 42, employed by Lighthouse Tabernacle, is being sued by a 14 year old choir girl for rape over a 3 month period in 1985. The suit also names Revs. William W. and David Totman. Said a church official, " they're not just fighting us, they're fighting God."

San Antonio Light 4/6/89

Shawn Charles "Brother Dusty" Williams, 50, got 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to showing pornography and fondling 2 young boys. The preacher-plumber worked as a volunteer bus driver for the New Covenant Fellowship Church of San Antonio, picking up stray kids to take them to church. He blamed the " devil" for his crimes.

The Maryland Sun, 4/8/89

Rev. William Edward Thompson, Jr., 45, charged with 21 counts of child sexual abuse, pleaded guilty in a plea bargain. The married father of 4 sons was headmaster at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Catonsville. He was charged with child pornography and molesting 7 boys, ages 11 to 16, in his home and on church property. A social worker reported him.

Star Tribune 6/89

Lawsuits were filed against Rev. Albert C. Magnuson, pastor, Redeemer Covenant Church, Brooklyn Park, MN, for molesting 3 brothers, their sister, seminary student nearly 20 years ago when they went to him for counseling. Church, church's Northwest Conference likewise sued for negligence.

Times-Picayune 7/19/89

A boy's father is suing Methodist Home of New Orleans, charging that his son, 12, was molested by a counselor during a field trip. Rev. Dale Haggard pleaded guilty in Jan. 1989, and was sentenced to 4 years' probation, 500 hours community service, and therapy. Haggard, Louisiana Methodist Conference was also named. The suit alleges that [the Methodist Home] knew Haggard " had a propensity to engage in sexual acts with young boys."

Wisconsin State Journal 8/14/89

Six girls who were sexually abused by Rev, Francis G. Haight, head of ex-Baptist Christian Academy, Monroe, WI, were awarded a total of $57,440 in court settlements. Haight is serving a 20 year term for molesting children; He is eligible for parole in 4 years.

Quad-City Times 9/7/89

$450,000 jury award against United Methodist Church of Illinois upheld by Judge Stuart Shiffman involving Rev. William Fyfee, who molested 3 brothers in Macon, 1982. The church was held responsible because it knew Fyffe had molested boys at Taylor Ridge parish, 1975, but still ordained him, expunged records of counseling for molestation, and transferred him into a community unaware of the episodes. Fyffe served nearly 3 years of prison after pleading guilty to the Macon molestings.

Florida Times-Union 9/19/89

Rev. William Murray Hendricks, Jr., 50, pastor of Clay Hill Baptist Church, pleaded guilty to 2 counts of lewd & lascivious assault on a minor. The victim: a girl, 7, molested at the church, parish house in 1988 where he pastored for 15 years. As a plea bargain he agreed not to perform pastoral duties until his probation ended.

Atlanta Constitution 9/22/89

Rev. L. G. Gilstrap, 54, an Assemblies of God minister, was convicted by a jury on 3 counts of child molestation and sentenced to 33 years in prison for a string of fondling incidents in 1988 involving brothers aged 10 and 13. The older boy said Gilstrap once tried to have sex with him in the shower. Eight men testified during the trial that they too were molested by the minister when they were boys. Three said they were also abused by the Sunday school teacher, who was not tried. Gilstrap denied the charges but corroborated their accusations against the teacher. The prosecutor called Gilstrap the " Pied Piper of pedophilia." Gilstrap, defrocked, started a new church, New Hope Ministries. Married, he was a former clerk for the Georgia House of Representatives.

Corpus-Christi Caller Times, 9/27

It took a jury only 28 minutes to find Antonio S. Martinez, 59, a Pentecostal evangelist from Mathis, FL, guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a girl, 12. He claimed they had a common-law marriage. He first assaulted her when she was 11 and in 5th grade. Her grandmother forced her into the arrangement. A doctor turned Martinez in after Martinez asked him why she didn't become pregnant.

Reno Gazette Journal 10/28/89

Rev. David Swope, minister at Sparks United Methodist Church, NV, was sentenced to 1 year in county jail, suspended to 3 years' probation, and psychological counseling. Swope pleaded no contest to a plea bargain of open & gross lewdness. He molested a girl, age 10, after choir practice, telling her she was one of his favorites and it meant nothing sexual. He was accused of taking indecent liberties with another girl 8 years ago.

AP/Clinton Herald 10/30/89

Rev. Robert Duane Schultz, 52, of Washington, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after confessing to acts described as " horribly perverse" on boys under age 12, involving 1 count of sexual abuse and 3 others of lascivious acts. Officials are giving him polygraph tests and blood tests in an effort to identify other victims. The married minister was a foster parent honored in 1989 by Gov. Terry Branstad for volunteer service. Victims included foster children; five were removed from his home upon his arrest. The prosecution said a law preventing prosecution for sex assaults occurring more than 4 years ago should be changed, and would have resulted in more charges against Schultz. Rev. John Bennett told Schultz' congregation at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), " Bob has fallen...into a deep pit of despair. But Bob has not fallen from the grace of God." Church policy requires that he be defrocked for committing a felony.

Wisconsin State Journal 11/1/89

George Degoyler, 42, pastor of Verona Christian Fellowship, WI, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years' probation after pleading no contest to 1st degree sexual assault of an 8 year old girl visiting his home. He carried the girl upstairs, pulled down her pants and molested her. He was ordered to have no unsupervised conduct with minors except his children. The DA agreed to ask the court to amend the charge to 4th degree if he does not violate probation.

Huntsville Times 11/9/89

Rev. Jim "Papa" Cater, 50 founder and head of Living World Church in Dickson Co., TN was indicted on 6 new counts of child sexual abuse, for a total of 56 charges. The crimes reportedly occurred at the church compound during April, May and June 1989. The state raided the church in June, taking 11 children into protective custody, ordering him to close his illegally operating residential child-care facility. Cater became a minister after converting while serving time in Florida for strong-armed robbery and forgery. His ministry specialized in helping recovering alcoholics & addicts. Following the arrests, he was injured in the county jail after inmates attacked him, calling him " baby raper."

Worcester Telegram 11/10/89

Rev. Walter Stone, pastor of Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg, MA, was sentenced to 7-15 years in prison after being convicted by a jury of 8 counts of molesting 2 boys. Two victims, now 18 and 21, testified Stone befriended them during church counseling and activities. Stone, 56, is married with 4 children, an Air Force veteran, with a doctorate in theology from Boston University. Several friends and colleagues wrote letters of commendation for him.

LA Times 12/8/89

Walter Heroldo Solis, 54, charged with molesting 3 girls at Glendale Spanish 7th-day Adventist Church in Glendale, was killed Nov. 29 after stepping into a traffic lane in what police believe was a suicide.

Washington Post 12/10/89

Rev. Thomas Welsch, 39, and his wife Jean, 40, were sentenced to 30 years in prison with all but 6 years suspended, after pleading guilty to 5 counts each of child sexual abuse. Originally they were charged with 571 counts involving 3 victims. Welsch and his wife abused twin sisters, 13, and a 17 year old girl. He was pastor at Immanuel United Church of Christ in Cambridge, MD for 10 years. The state's attorney praised all 3 victims for showing " a lot of courage " in testifying against their popular pastor.

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 12/13/89

Rev. Robert A. Kulzer, 65, was convicted of molesting 2 boys at Faith Temple Church, in Brighton. He was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison but it was stayed pending appeal, meaning if he can make $10,000 cash bail he will not serve time yet. The married grandfather was convicted of 3 counts of sodomy and 1 count each of promoting prostitution, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child involving boys aged 12 to 16. Abuse included oral sex with a 16 year old boy, putting a condom on a 12 year old boy during a discussion about " the facts of life," and arranging for a boy to have sex with a 62 year old woman in the parsonage. Defense involved Kulzer's " good deeds," including being a missionary in Africa.

Chieftain 12/15/89

Rev. Robert G. Halverstadt, 61, of Victory Center Church, Pueblo, CO, was sentenced to a year in jail, after admitting he used games, coercion and drugs to sexually molest 3 girls in his congregation. Charges involving 4 other victims were dropped when he pleaded guilty to reduced counts. He was given credit for 135 days already spent in jail, plus 4 years' probation. Halverstadt assaulted a girl, 9, who volunteered to help him clean his church. Another girl said he gave her something to drink that made her fall asleep. She woke up naked with pain in her groin area.

AP/Wisconsin State Journal 12/22/89

James Kennedy, a Salvation Army pastor from LaCrosse, WI, was sentenced to 6 years in prison plus 10 years' probation for 1st degree sexual assault of a girl, 10. He was ordered to pay for counseling. She was sexually abused at his home 4 times in 1985. Supporters have rallied to his cause. The day after his sentencing, he was released on $15,000 bond posted by a relative, pending appeal.

San Jose Mercury News 1/5/90

Gary Hambright, a Southern Baptist minister accused of molesting dozens of children at the Presidio daycare in San Francisco, died of AIDS Nov. 8. Between 60-102 tots were suspected victims of child sexual abuse by Hambright and others, but 2 investigations led to dismissal of charges. Five children had contracted chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease. The Army daycare was closed. Parents have filed more than $60 million in claims against the Army alleging negligence led to sexual abuse of kids. The claims haven't been heard. Hambright died maintaining his innocence, leaving an obituary rife with references to " my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." A Presidio spokesperson said none of the children have shown signs of AIDS.

News & Observer 1/15/92

A family in Dare County, North Carouna is suing Methodist minister Carl M. Eller for abusing their daughter, 11, as well as the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, a bishop and a reverend for knowing of his history of sexual misconduct but doing nothing about it. The family says she was molested when her father, a carpenter, was installing cabinets in the parsonage. Eller pleaded no contest to a charge of criminal assault on a female. However, the family said that in 1987 Eller had molested or made lewd comments to 4 women at his church, and forcibly kissed and touched 2 girls age 13. Three women had lodged formal complaints with the church, but the only action was to transfer him from Aurora to Hamlet.

Boston Herald 5/7/92

Suspended associate rector of a Tucson Episcopal church, Stephen P. Apthorp, 56, pleaded guilty in Massachusetts to repeatedly raping his stepdaughter between her 10th and 16th birthday, an estimated 830 incidents of abuse. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Christian Century 5/13/92

Anglican Bishop Owen Dowling, 57, of Canberra and Goulburn, was recently charged with soliciting a male off-duty cop for prostitution.

Rapid City Journal 7/29/92

No charges were brought when youngsters in Piedmont told police & social services they were molested in 1983 by Rev. Wally Walton (see above) at Piedmont Grace United Methodist Church. After a 2-year sabbatical, Walton became pastor at Grace United Methodist in Pierre, where he has been charged with sex offenses against children. The Methodist hierarchy decided he was "not a danger to anyone", permitted him to give sermons during his 2-year break, & "felt he should be given another chance", said Rev. Dick Fisher, formerly Westem Dist. superintendent of the Methodist Church in Rapid City. "We had two concerns at the time: to protect the people & save a person for the ministry."

Ottawa Citizen 8/18/92

Owen Sound minister Jim Francom was suspended With pay from St. George's Anglican Church after being charged in July with rape & assault of a girl under 14. The assaults were alleged to have occurred in London, Ontario between 1975-1984.

Wenatchee World 9/17/92

Rev. Lawrence "Larry" E. Trim, 55, of Evangelical Methodist Church in Methow, pleaded guilty to 3rd degree rape of a child, in connection with an assault of a boy, then 13.

NYT News Service/Chicago Tribune 10/7/92

The highest-ranking U.S. Episcopal priest, who ironically headed a national committee examining the church's position on sexuality, resigned in October following charges he sexually abused young men in his congregation. Rev. Wallace A. Frey, rector of St. David's Church in DeWitt, is married with 2 grown children. A church official said he had been involved in "sexual misconduct over a lengthy period with some male, young adults & a teenager under his pastoral care". The official said the number of victims appears to be "less than 10".

Ottawa Citizen 11/11/92

St. George's Cathedral & the Anglican church are being sued over a choirmaster's sexual assaults on choirboys. John Gallienne is serving a 6-1/2 year sentence for abusing boys. Now 17 plaintiffs are suing, claiming damages, plus interest & costs. The suit in part claims church officials were aware of Gallienne's misconduct & held at least 5 meetings over a 6- year period to discuss them, yet took no action to protect boys.

Register-Guard 12/6/92

Following the death on July 4 of Rev. William O. Walker, a prominent Eugene pastor at First United Methodist Church, it was discovered he not only died of AIDS but had used his ministerial position to make sexual advances to at least 12 men, including 6 ministers. Walker infected his wife Carol with AIDS; she died in 1990. In November a church superintendent told parishioners that Walker had been accused of making sexual advances to 2 male teenagers at a Methodist church camp 17 years earlier.

Express-Times 12/17/92

A sexton at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Whitehall Township was sentenced to 35-70 years in jail for molesting boys. Adam Tannous, 61, of Allentown, agreed to plead guilty to 7 merged charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, after originally being charged with more than 4,000 crimes. One victim said Tannous bragged of having sex with 400 boys over the past 40 years. He was removed as pastor of St. George's Episcopal Church in Hellertown in 1970 because of similar allegations. In 1972, he was arrested on a morals charge in Emmaus. He was "treated", not jailed, then expelled from the ministry. Despite this record, St. Stephen's hired him in 1976 to be custodian, saying he was rehabilitated. Many victims say Tannous caused them alcohol problems by plying them with liquor.

Indianapolis Star 2/4/93

Methodist minister assaults depressed teenager: A lawsuit filed in February accuses United Methodist minister R. Gene Voss of sexually assaulting a female teenager during counseling sessions for depression at the First United Methodist Church, Crawfordsville. In 1984 her minister began fondling the 15-year-old, initiating intercourse when she was 16. "Over the next four years Gene Voss raped the plaintiff over 60 times," says the lawsuit. The woman has incurred more than $65,000 in treatment for abuse. Voss gave up his minister credentials in 1991. She is also suing the Crawfordsville church and the United Methodist South Indiana Conference. "You can say anything in a lawsuit," was the cavalier response of the conference's legal advisor.

Oregonian 3/13/93

Prominent pastor Rev. Willie B. Smith, 64, former president of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, is accused of sexually abusing 3 teenage girls at First African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. He was charged with 11 counts of 1st degree sexual abuse, a felony, and 1 count of 3rd degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. Pastors in the community werequick to speak about his "exemplary" work. Two of the victims told police Smith had cornered them in his church office and groped them. A third said she was repeatedly abused by Smith for 16 months, beginning in September 1990. The victims were 12, 13, and 17 at the time of the incidents. Almost every parishioner lined up to hug, kiss and reassure Smith following the arrest.

Omaha World-Herald 3/20/93

Third-degree sexual assault charges were reduced to attempted contributing to delinquency of a minor against Beatrice pastor Rev. Norman Scott Callahan, 50, associate pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church. He is accused of sexual contact with a boy, 15, and was suspended for 60 days from his post.

The minister of Outreach Baptist Church in suburban Garland, married with 2 sons, is charged with a series of sexual assaults in the Village Apartment area of North Dallas. Goben, who has a masters degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, is linked to 4 sexual assaults, 1 aggravated sexual assault and a charge of attempted burglary. That attacks all involved break-ins in which the assailant wore a ski mask and tied the victims' hands.

Los Angeles (JTA), 6/16/95

A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a one-count indictment of sexual abuse of a minor against Yehudah Friedlander, an assistant to Rabbi Israel Grunwald, who leads a small faction of Pupa Chassidim in Boro Park, Brooklyn.

Friedlander and Grunwald were arrested together, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Yang said it has not been determined whether an indictment of the rabbi will be sought.

Special to Bulletin, 10/18/96

Nearly five years after Rabbi Robert Kirschner left the pulpit of San Francisco's Congregation Emanu-El, he has for the first time publicly apologized for sexual improprieties that led to his resignation.

"I hereby acknowledge, with sorrow and profound regret, that I engaged in sexual relations outside of my marriage," Kirschner said in a recent statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The statement included quotes from a letter he wrote in October 1995 to the Central Conference of American Rabbis' executive board. However, releasing the information to the JTA marked the first time his apology has been made public. Kirschner referred in that letter to his conduct as "morally and ethically indefensible," adding that "I ask the forgiveness of anyone who was hurt by my actions, and of my rabbinic colleagues, whose standards I breached."

But according to several of the women who accused Kirschner of sexual misconduct, some of whom were Emanu-El congregrants, the rabbi has never directly apologized to them.

Jewish Bulletin of Northern California, 12/1/96

"When women charge sexual exploitation by a rabbi, a conspiracy of silence often ensues. The secrecy protects the perpetrators, leaving victims alienated. Victims who speak out often find themselves ostracized by their religious communities. And they say that when they turn to the rabbi's professional association or their movement's congregational organization, they feel unwelcome ...

...At the congregational meetings that follow allegations of rabbinic sexual misconduct, synagogue members often ostracize accusers. Some accusers have been called 'liars,' 'whores' and worse, she said ... In one highly publicized case, Michele Samit -- who does not claim to be a victim of rabbinic sexual misconduct -- says her community vilified her after she wrote a book about the relationship between Anita Green and Green's rabbi, Steven Jacobs. Green was the president of Shir Chadash/The New Reform Congregation in Los Angeles when she was murdered in 1990. Her husband, Mel Green, was convicted of ordering the killing, and is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole."

Bulletin Correspondent, 2/21/97

The Petaluma rabbi accused of sexually molesting a bat mitzvah student has pleaded no contest to the charge and faces up to eight years in prison.

Rabbi Sidney Goldenberg, formerly of Petaluma's Congregation B'nai Israel, entered his plea at Santa Rosa Municipal Court Tuesday to a felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor under the age of 14. The sexual misconduct allegedly took place over several months late last year while Goldenberg was tutoring the victim, a 12-year-old girl, for her bat mitzvah. Police said Goldenberg, 58, took the girl into his office, made lewd remarks, touched her breasts and asked that she put her hands into his pockets.

According to Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Gary Medvigy, a plea of no contest is the legal equivalent of a guilty plea.

Embarrass, Minnesota, 7/16/97

The former pastor of the Embarrass-Pike Evangelical Lutheran Church has been charged with several counts of sexually assaulting a male youth. Rev. James Eric Holmgren, 46, resigned as pastor last month. The criminal complaint said the assaults against the boy, now 25, occurred at the church, the pastor's home and in a car.

Chicago, 8/7/97

Rev. Casey January, 30, a pastor at God's Tabernacle of Praise was charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual abuse. He allegedly assaulted a teenage girl after counseling her about a year ago in the church and her home. The alleged victim tried to commit suicide after the incidents.

Dallas, 12/22/97

A youth minister of the Church of Christ has been arrested after allegedly sending nude pictures of himself to a 14-year-old girl over the Internet. Matthew Washington, 23, was charged with distribution of harmful material to a minor. Police said Washington sent her four photos of him seated nude on an exercise bike at the church after talking to her in an Internet chat room. The girl showed them to her mother who alerted the police. Washington was released on bail but faces up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Coppell, Texas, 2/27/98

Monte Ray Freeman, 68, a former Baptist deacon and school board member, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $750 after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a 4-year-old girl last year. He had been alleged to be molesting girls over a decade ago, but church officials persuaded the accusers' parents not to pursue criminal charges.

Cassopolis, Michigan, 3/4/98

A United Church of Christ minister convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl was to remain free on bond pending sentencing scheduled for March 27.

John Charles Yeager, 52, who was also an administrator at an Indiana center for abused children, was convicted by jury of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was found guilty of molesting the girl while he, the girl, and his own daughter of the same age, were under a blanket on a couch in his basement in August 1996. That daughter and at least two of his other 3 daughters, which he has been raising alone since his wife died in 1987, have publicly supported him.

Dallas, Texas, 2/11/98

A Baptist pastor awaiting trial on a sexual abuse charge involving an 11-year-old girl is now accused of molesting a 3-year-old girl at her mother's home.

Police arrested Rev. Ronroyal Owens at his church office after a mother reported finding him nude in bed with her daughter. She told police she and Owens had gone to sleep in the living room but when she awoke shortly later and checked on her daughter, she discovered Owens with her, touching her leg. Her panties had been pulled down. An officer of the child exploitation unit of the Dallas PD said it did not appear that the child had been harmed.

Dallas, Texas, 4/17/98

A pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl was sentenced to 12 years in prison following testimony that he agreed to let her graduate early from the church's school in exchange for sex. Rev. Jerry Wayne Power, longtime pastor of Irving Baptist Temple and principal of the church's school, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child.

Dallas, Texas 5/18/98

An 18-year-old man and his parents sued the Assemblies of God and the church's ranch for troubled youths, claiming the youth was molested by a counselor at the center two years ago. The alleged victim was 16 when he went to Dallas Teen Challenge Boys Ranch in January 1996. According to his lawsuit, a counselor and convicted drug trafficker sexually molested him on at least six different occasions.

Dallas, Texas, 5/20/98

A former rabbi accused by three women of improperly touching them decades ago apologized for "a very dark chapter in my life". Rabbi Max Zucker, the longtime head of a synagogue begged for forgiveness when confronted recently by one of the women he is accused of touching. The woman, her husband and parents said Zucker, 73, did not dispute her account that he touched her genitals.

Seattle Times, 5/29/98

Overlake Christian Church elders moved to debatable theological ground when they used the Bible to justify dismissing sexual-misconduct allegations against their pastor, other church leaders say...Many of the verses cited by the elders referred to needing more than one witness to support accusations of wrongdoing, particularly against church leaders. Others require "greater scrutiny" for allegations against leaders. Another "biblical principle" requires one who is violated to "cry out," the elders said, though they cited no Bible reference for the principle. .

United Methodist News Service, 6/26/98

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit in which two women had charged that United Methodist Church officials in Fort Worth, Texas, ignored their complaints about a pastor's sexual misconduct.

The settlement comes only days before the June 29 trial date set by Judge Jeff Walker in the 96th State District Court. Gail Cooke and Dorayne Levin, who were members of First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, had sued First Church, the United Methodist Church's Central Texas Conference, Fort Worth Area Bishop Joe Wilson, and three First Church officials, the Revs. William Longsworth, Weldon Hayes and Kay Johnson. The two women had charged that officials were negligent in dealing with alleged sexual misconduct on the part of former First Church pastor Barry Bailey.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 7/13/01

A North Carolina community, already reeling from the news that a local Chassidic rabbi took part in an armed robbery a decade ago, is now dealing with the rabbi's recent arrest for indecent exposure.

Rabbi Pinchas Lew, 31, of Chapel Hill, was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges on May 16 after a woman accused him of repeatedly touching his genitals in front of her. The woman, a housekeeper in Lew's home, reportedly said Lew had bolted all the doors and that she feared he planned to assault her. She managed to escape through a back door. The woman filed a complaint with police two days later and Lew was arrested four weeks after the incident. He was released on a $1,000 bond. Lew, married with five children, led religious study and frequently held services in his home for college students ... After the local community learned about the Postville incident [the Iowa town where Lew was involved in the robbery], more than 100 members of the local Jewish community attended a meeting to hear Lew talk about his criminal past. Coincidentally, that meeting occurred on the same day he allegedly assaulted the woman in his home.

The Jewish Week, 2/22/2002

NYC cantor arrested for sexually abusing nephew A longtime cantor at one of the nation’s largest and most prominent Reform synagogues has been released on bail following his arrest on charges he sexually abused a nephew.

Howard Nevison, 61, of Congregation Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, was ordered by a judge to surrender his passport and told he can leave the city only to turn himself over to authorities in Pennsylvania, where he was charged. A defense lawyer said Nevison will fight extradition.

Police in Lower Merion, a suburb of Philadelphia, charged Nevison with sexually assaulting the nephew on three occasions between 1993 and 1997 while the boy was 3 to 7 years old. Nevison was arrested at his New York apartment early yesterday. Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Arlene Goldberg released Nevison on $100,000 bond after an evening court appearance. Lawrence Nevison, 55, who is Howard Nevison’s brother and also an uncle of the boy, and Lawrence Nevison’s son, Stewart, 30, were previously convicted of molesting the youngster in unrelated incidents.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.