Billy Graham’s grandson: evangelicals ‘worse’ than Catholics on sex abuse
http://www.religionnews.com/2013/09/26/billy-grahams-grandson-evangelicals-worse-catholic-church-sex-abuse/
Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Sep 26, 2013
While comparing evangelicals to Catholics on
abuse response, ”I think we are worse,” he said at the Religion Newswriters Association conference,
saying too many evangelicals had “sacrificed the souls” of young victims.
“Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing
to Catholics,” said Tchividjian, a grandson of evangelist Billy
Graham and executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment
(GRACE), which has investigated sex abuse allegations.
Earlier this summer, GRACE spearheaded an online petition decrying the “silence” and
“inattention” of evangelical leaders to sexual abuse in their churches.
Mission
agencies, “where abuse is most prevalent,” often don’t report abuse
because they fear being barred from working in foreign countries, he said.
Abusers will get sent home and might join another agency. Of known data from
abuse cases, 25 percent are repeat cases, he said.
Still, he says, he sees some positive movements
among some Protestants. Bob Jones University
has hired GRACE to investigate abuse allegations, a move that encourages
Tchividjian, a former Florida
prosecutor. ”That’s like the mothership of fundamentalism,” he said. His
grandfather split with Bob Jones in a fundamentalist and
evangelical division.
“The Protestant culture is defined by
independence,” Tchividjian said. Evangelicals often frown upon
transparency and accountability, he said, as many Protestants rely on Scripture
more than religious leaders, compared to Catholics.
Abusers discourage whistle-blowing by condemning
gossip to try to keep people from reporting abuse, he said. Victims are also
told to protect the reputation of Jesus.
Too many Protestant institutions have sacrificed
souls in order to protect their institutions, he said. ”We’ve got the
Gospels backwards,” he said.
Tchividjian said he is speaking with Pepperdine
University, a Church of
Christ-affiliated school in California,
about creating a national GRACE center.
KRE END BAILEY
