This international
umbrella organization for Baptists – the BWA -- resolved that Baptists should
take action even in instances "where the complainant has not contacted
police, the police have not pressed charges, the police do not consider there
is enough evidence, or the prosecuting authority has dropped the case."
The BWA "urges
all Baptist churches, conventions and unions to take seriously every case of
alleged child sexual abuse, to ensure that proper rules and processes are in
place to protect children from harm and to promptly respond to
allegations."
Finally, the BWA expresses
"profound sorrow at the ways in which children have been betrayed, harmed
and sexually or otherwise abused." It states its repentance of any failure
by Baptists anywhere "to protect and of the failure to care for those who
have been abused." The BWA also states its regret for instances of
"neglect to implement and enforce effective policies and processes to
protect children from abuse and of the silence of many of our churches on these
issues in the past."
Those last three words
– “in the past” – give a big clue as to what’s wrong with this nice-sounding
BWA rhetoric. They apparently think that Baptist clergy sex abuse and cover-ups
are a problem “in the past” – but nothing could be further from the truth. This
is very much a current and on-going problem.
And why does the BWA
bother to express its “regret” for instances of “neglect to implement and enforce
effective policies and processes to protect children” when Baptists’ failure to
implement and enforce effective policies and processes to protect children” is
a failure that continues to this day? And personally, I think they give
themselves too much credit in calling this failure a mere “neglect.” I would
call it flat-out recklessness.
To be sure, the BWA
has put forth some nice-sounding words, but it’s still nothing more than talk.
Where are the deeds?
And surely, the BWA
must realize that deeds are what’s needed. Just a couple months ago, it was reported in Great Britain that seven additional men had made
child-rape claims against one of the BWA’s own former high-level
executives, minister Robert Dando
 |
| Robert Dando |
Dando, who previously served as executive assistant to the
BWA president and who was a prominent British Baptist minister, is already
serving an eight-year prison sentence in Virginia, where he was jailed in 2011
after molesting two boys while on a mission trip in the U.S.
All the BWA talk in
the world won’t take care of those kids whom Dando molested.
Nor will mere talk do
the task of reaching out to other kids whom Dando may have molested, including
to kids in India where Dando also worked for a children’s charity.
And nor will talk do
the job of protecting other Baptist church kids in the future.
Talk is too easy; deeds
are needed.
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