[RS] If you’re Southern Baptist, you should know that the federal government is looking into your organization.As relayed by Fox News, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has announced it’s under investigation by the Department of Justice. And though the Convention is being a bit vague, the revealed reason is particularly disconcerting.
Apparently, the DOJ’s probe is related to how the largest Protestant denomination in America has managed allegations of sexual abuse.
From the SBC Executive Committee’s statement posted online:
[The Committee] recently became aware that the Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention, and that the investigation will include multiple SBC entities. ... While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to sexual abuse, current leaders across the SBC have demonstrated a firm conviction to address those issues of the past and are implementing measures to ensure they are never repeated in the future. The fact that the SBC Executive Committee recently completed a fully transparent investigation is evidence of this commitment.
A report in May by third-party firm Guidepost Solutions logged 200+ pages worth of abuse claims within the church.
In response, the Convention voted in June to track pastors who’ve been "credibly" accused of sexual abuse.
CNN explains: