Advocates Target Baptist Sex Offenders

Victims Of Abuse Ask Nation's Largest Protestant Denomination To Root Out Molesters

(CBS/AP)  Victims' advocates who dogged the Roman Catholic Church over sex abuse by its clergy have now turned their attention to Southern Baptists.

The group is accusing America's largest Protestant denomination of also failing to root out molesters.

The Chicago-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests — or SNAP — has started a campaign to call attention to alleged sex abuse committed by Southern Baptist ministers and concealed by churches.

The group presented a letter Monday to Southern Baptist Convention executive committee members in Nashville, Tenn., asking the group to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on sex abuse and to create an independent review board to investigate molestation reports.

Church leaders concede there have been some incidents of abuse in Southern Baptist congregations, but say their hands are tied when it comes to investigating complaints across the denomination.

One such incident occurred this week in Columbia, S.C., where police said a pastor sent pornographic messages and obscene pictures of himself over the Web to a police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.

Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill says 42-year-old Kevin Ogle has agreed to go to Walton County, Georgia, to faces charges.

Authorities say Ogle chatted on the Internet for three months with the Georgia officer he thought was a 14-year-old girl, exchanging sexually explicit messages and sending pornographic pictures of himself.

He has been charged with 11 counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Ogle is the pastor of Northgate Colonial Baptist Church.

"It's a bombshell, but it's nothing we can't overcome with God's help," said Deacon Mike Clifton told CBS affiliate WLTX correspondent Will Frampton. "Satan has thrown a stone at us, and we're gonna throw it right back."

Clifton said there's no question the church's congregation will forgive its pastor.

"We can't expect God to forgive us when we ask him for forgiveness, and not forgive our pastor, or any fellow man, when they do wrong."

[dallison7]

The various churches have always been a good place for sexual perverts to hide. The catholic church lures the homosexual pedophiles with the 'vow of celibacy'. I am surprised, though that this group could concentrate on the Baptist church instead of the evangelicals. That's where the real deviants are.

[mitywhity]

The entire planet is rife with these deviants. To slam the church is not going to make them go away. These people only exist because they are masterful deceivers and manipulators. Who knows, your best friend, neighbor, even family member may be the most vile deviant yet? Are yjey in the church? Yes. Are they outside the church? Yes. Is this story focused on deviants or is it focused on salacious slander of the church as a whole? I believe it against the church as a whole, not the individual. That's typical and it's disgraceful.

[terrapin78]

Organized religion is a scourge on this earth.

Look at Iraq. My Islam is better than your Islam. I could cite examples from now till the cows come home.

[bigwhtpony]

These complainers probably don't even go to church - hence their "secular-progressive" philosophy. They slam what they don't understand or are incapable of comprehending.

They expect perfection from mortals because they can't live up to it themselves. They will always be disappointed.

[mitywhity]

Organized religion is a scourge on this earth

True, religion is bad. That's why Baptists don't advocate it.

[susanhelit]

Pedophiles go everywhere, and they try to find jobs (like priest, minister, teacher) that gives them easy access to children - that part is not at all the Baptists - nor even the Catholics fault. I think it's reasonable though, considering the enourmity of the damage to the victims, to ask the churches what they are doing to try to ensure that when one of these pedophiles is uncovered, that they don't just go to the next church down the block.

The Baptist problem sounds like it's nothing near as severe as the Catholic problem, where the leadership deliberately and intently kept feeding their pedophiles new congregations, and the victims hush money. But there's probably a bit of room for improvement in communicating to the churches when a minister turns out bad.

[mitywhity]

Our church runs background checks on EVERYONE, not just staff. We check for criminal history and we keep a close eye and ear on all people who work with or near children's ministries.

[jn122736]

"Organized religion is a scourge on this earth

True, religion is bad. That's why Baptists don't advocate it."
Posted by MITYWHITY at 11:26 AM : Feb 22, 2007

And here I thought baptists believed in god.

"Religion, the service and worship of God or the supernatural". Mariam-Webster's Dictionary/Thesaurus.

[anopinion1]

The media likes to attack Christians, that's the bottom line. And when an atheist or non-believer sees these type of articles, it only further feeds them with hate.

We live in a sad society folks. A society that constantly attacks God, our Creator.
Posted by singinrick at 01:01 PM : Feb 22, 2007

they give sooo much cannon fodder tho for us to attack....
how many people in the history of man have died over religion as compared many other things???
way way to many...
that is my beef with religion of today
i say find your own religion, pick out the best things of anything u can find and use it as your own.

[three-o-six]

This group will have a difficult time with the Baptists as the conference is not responsible for hiring or firing ministere, that is left up to the individual congregations. They will need to present their case to each church individually.

[consciousnes]

You may be right about the media, but christians should police themselves.
There have been studies that 40% of the daughters of religious families have been molested or raped by either a paster, Priest or close relitive.
It seems to me that we christians aren't all we are cracked up to be.
Like every organization we have our human faults, but we should do our best to make sure these faults do not hurt someone else. If getting such information out into the public view is what it takes to save a small child from harm, that is what should happen.

[jn122736]

"Religion" itself isn't the answer. Jesus Christ is. %u201C
------------

There, is a contradiction in terms. Belief in Jesus Christ as a god is religion in itself.

Accusing those who do not believe in your religion of being hateful is an insult and if you truly believe in the teachings of Jesus, according to the bible, it is also a sin. If people like this are all that will be allowed in %u201Cheaven%u201D it is no wonder many would choose not to be there.

If god really were interested in all those churches he/she would not condone such action by his/her preachers-priests, or whatever term your religion uses to describe your leaders.

[jn122736]

Singinrick,

I only have a moment right now so let me just say this: Believing in god only for the reward of so doing, or out of fear of punishment for not so doing would, for me, be a worse %u201Chell%u201D.

[hermit22]

"Bad people will be paid back for what they do,
and good people will be rewarded for their good deeds." Proverbs 14:14