U.S. Baptist kids like Third-World Catholic kids

Southern Baptist kids have as little protection against clergy sex abuse as Catholic kids in Third-World countries.

This reality was driven home during the Pope’s visit, when SNAP focused its energy on urging the Pope to establish a worldwide policy on protecting children against clergy sex abuse.

Back in 2002, Catholic canon law deemed that the protective policies adopted by United States bishops were “particular” laws, applicable only in U.S. dioceses and not in other parts of the world. From Thailand to Turkey, from Kenya to Columbia, Catholic children worldwide do not get the sorts of protections that Catholic children in the U.S. now get.

Bishops in the United States created the Office of Child and Youth Protection “to provide a vehicle of accountability and assistance to dioceses” and in an effort to work cooperatively toward ridding the ranks of clergy predators. It was an incomplete effort, and the policies have been inconsistently implemented, but at least it was a start.

Bishops in the rest of the world have done virtually nothing.

Dioceses in the United States now have lay-person review boards to assess whether priests have been ‘credibly accused.” Dioceses in the rest of the world do not. Dioceses in the United States now operate under a “one-strike-and-you’re-out” policy. Dioceses in the rest of the world do not. Dioceses in the United States now provide counseling to those who bring forward reports of clergy sex abuse. Dioceses in the rest of the world typically do not.

It would require a change in Catholic canon law for dioceses worldwide to be able to remove abusive priests from ministry based on “credible accusations” in the way that U.S. dioceses now do. It’s a change that is much needed.

On Wednesday, a Duluth News-Tribune editorial pointed out, without the sort of policies that were adopted by U.S. bishops, “one can only shudder at the possibility for abuse against an impoverished child in an unempowered Third World family.”

Yet, kids in Third World countries are just as needy of protection as kids in the United States.

Likewise, kids in other faith groups are just as needy of protection as Catholic kids. Most other major Protestant groups seem to have recognized this by instituting review board policies of their own, but Southern Baptists still have not.

Sometimes “credibly accused” pedophile priests flee this country for the less-constraining territory of a Catholic diocese abroad that isn’t subject to the sorts of safeguards that U.S. bishops adopted. By comparison, Southern Baptist ministers don’t even have to leave the comforts of the U.S.A. Even when child molestation accusations are substantiated, there is no Southern Baptist policy or procedure for removing the man from ministry or even for warning people in the pews. Typically, an accused Southern Baptist minister can simply move to another state. Or maybe even to another church just down-the-road. No one in Southern Baptist circles is likely to stop him.

Not a single one of the statewide Baptist conventions is even beginning to address the clergy abuse problem in the way that most U.S. Catholic dioceses now do. And we sure haven’t seen much leadership on this from Southern Baptist headquarters in Nashville.

The tragic truth is that Southern Baptist leaders are so far behind the curve on addressing clergy sex abuse that they haven’t yet even seen their way to the starting blocks.

Why shouldn’t Southern Baptist kids have at least the minimal sorts of protection that are now provided for Catholic kids in this country?

Why shouldn’t Southern Baptist leaders institute their own child and youth protection policies and start warning people about “credibly accused” clergy?

Finally, the Pope’s visit serves as a reminder of how far SNAP has come in its work of exposing clergy abuse and cover-ups. SNAP was out there working in the trenches a full twelve years before the 2002 Boston scandal tipped the scales with enough media glare to compel U.S. bishops toward action. Now, in almost every article about the Pope’s visit, there has also been mention of the sex abuse scandal. With extraordinary perseverance, SNAP successfully brought this dire problem to public consciousness.

Sooner or later, if Southern Baptists do not get on board the train of clergy accountability, SNAP will also succeed in mustering sufficient media glare that Southern Baptist leaders will be compelled to action.

Of course, we hope it will happen sooner and that Southern Baptist leaders won’t wait until they are compelled. We hope they will voluntarily get on board, before countless more kids and families are wounded.

But one way or the other, SNAP is in this for the long haul.