In a scenario I've seen demonstrated many times, the pastor of a black church is accused of some sexual crime. Instead of outrage and action, the church stands behind the while at the same time accusing the victim of making it all up... or worse.
Marian Hubbard Jefferson, an investigative reporter with The Dallas Examiner, offers an interesting article titled Black churches protect predators while neglecting victims.
And after the abuse, many victims become even more disillusioned at the response of the church as some churches place greater emphasis on blind forgiveness and restoration of the perpetrator, rather than the healing and support of the victim, as in the cases of Sherman Allen, Terry Hornbuckle and Ruben Thankful, ministers convicted of sexual assault against women in their congregations. Countless victims suffer silently in the pews of Black churches for years, with feelings of shame, guilt, fear of reprisal and disbelief from those meant to guide and protect them. Meanwhile the Black Church consistently fails to lift their voices with a collective moral outcry against this devastating act of betrayal
The story profiles three notorious sexual abuse cases, each an example of a type of thinking that makes the church a fort against the forces of evil represented by outside society. It is a sad commentary on Christian morality.
Note: Corrected source for story
Marian Jefferson is an investigative reporter with The Dallas Examiner. This story was originally published there and picked up from the NNPA newswire by papers from across the nation, including the Louisiana Weekly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tuala - I fixed the writing credit.
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