An investigative report was published on Sunday that claimed leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention mishandled sexual abuse reports for over two decades.
Guidepost Solutions, an independent firm, conducted a seven-month investigation that claimed that sexual abuse survivors shared their allegations with the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee but were "only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC," according to the Associated Press.
Last summer during the church's annual meeting, delegates "demanded that its 86-member executive committee hand over confidential documents in cooperation," according to The New York Times.
Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said that the report is "shocking." He is not running for re-election when his term ends in June.
"I pray Southern Baptists will begin preparing today to take deliberate action to address these failures and chart a new course when we meet together in Anaheim," Litton said in a statement.
The Southern Baptist Convention is set to have its 2022 national meeting in Anaheim, California next month, where the report will be heavily discussed.
"Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC," the report said, per AP.
"In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy – even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation," the report said.
There have been several leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee who have resigned from their positions since the investigation began. Willie McLaurin, the group's interim president, and chairman Rolland Slade, said in a statement that there will be a meeting on Tuesday before the national meeting to discuss the report.
"We recognize there are no shortcuts," they said. "We must all meet this challenge through prudent and prayerful application, and we must do so with Christ-like compassion."
"To the members of the survivor community, we are grieved by the findings of this investigation," they added. "This is the beginning of a season of listening, lamenting, and learning how to address sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention."
The report provided some recommendations to avoid and prevent sexual abuse from being overlooked, including creating a offender information system that would alert people to known offenders, and establishing a "permanent administrative entity to oversee comprehensive long-term reforms concerning sexual abuse and related misconduct."
Other recommendations included a voluntary abuse-prevention program for churches, and to "restrict the use of nondisclosure agreements and civil settlements which bind survivors to confidentiality in sexual abuse matters."
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