Excuses and Rationalizations

Why do Baptist leaders fail to take action to protect kids against clergy sex abuse? These are the excuses and rationalizations I've heard: (a) They tell themselves "it's not my responsibility"; (b) They recite the trance-inducing mantra of "congregational autonomy"; (c) They act as though if they close their eyes long enough the problem will go away - and it usually does because victims trying to report abuse are pretty easily worn down; and (d) They wash their hands of it by saying they acted consistent with the advice of legal counsel.

Taking any kind of action involves some measure of risk. Will an individual take that risk voluntarily? Too often, the answer is no. It's much easier for an individual to do one of the above - a, b, c or d. But none of those choices serve to make other kids safer, and nor do they help the already-wounded. This is why there must be a system for accountability, so that the system itself will nudge individuals to do the right thing for the protection of others.

The worst of the horror rests not in the individuals who molest and rape kids, because as beastly as their deeds may be, they are the deeds of individuals. The worst of the horror is in an institutionalized system that ALLOWS countless other church and denominational leaders to turn a blind eye. The silent complicity of the many is where the evil really resides.

And for those of you who are pondering d and wondering why the advice of legal counsel isn't a good excuse, let me say this. That seems to be the favorite excuse of leaders at the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and it's an excuse I find particularly repugnant. It's an all-too-easy cop-out of moral responsibility and a way to evade difficult questions. An attorney can advise all manner of things that are within the bounds of the law, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the right thing to do or the best thing to do. Other questions need to be asked. Is it the best course of conduct ethically? Is it morally right? Is the attorney's tactic consistent with the mission of the organization? And perhaps most importantly for this issue, is it the course of action that will best serve to protect other kids? Those are the sorts of questions you might reasonably expect religious leaders to ask, and yet they are the very questions that they shirk.