Sex Abuse in the Protestant Church

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Figures released to the Associated Press in 2007 revealed that there are more sexual abuse cases in the Protestant church than in the Catholic church.

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In 2007, three insurance companies released figures showing that there are on average 260 cases of minors reporting that they were sexually abused by Protestant clergy or other church-related relationships. The three insurance companies are the Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company. Although the Associated Press picked up on this news story, very few mainstream news sources reported on this story.
Father Jonathan Morris

Father Jonathan Morris is a Roman Catholic priest, news contributor and analyst for the Fox News Channel. In reference to the Associated Press story, he wrote, “The mainstream media has all but ignored the recent Associated Press report.”

Father Jonathan, as he is commonly referred to, says, “The report is even more telling if we consider the plethora of independent or ‘store front’ Protestant churches that don’t have insurance and whose numbers, therefore, certainly are not taken into account in this study.”

Protestant sex abuse statistics are harder to come by and are sketchier because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church; many Protestant congregations are independent, which makes reporting even more difficult.

In his column, Father Jonathan addresses that the report of Protestant sex abuse cases does not clear nor diminish the seriousness of sex abuse in the Catholic church or “those who moved them from church to church and put other young people in danger.” He asserts that this report gives everyone a better perspective and that the problem of sexual abuse has no denominational boundaries.
Sex Abuse in the Protestant Church

There is no shortage of Protestant church sex abuse scandals yet as writer Luce Michael states in her blog, these stories do not make national news, Catholic abuse cases appear to be always in the news.

At Cooperating with Grace, Luce Michaels reports about Christopher Evans, a former Protestant youth minister in Batavia Township, Ohio. In February 2010, the former minister was found guilty of sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct involving a 15-year old girl. Evans was to re-appear in court on April 26 for sentencing. He was facing up to 50 years and a fine up to $100,000. About a week after his February court appearance, Evans was found dead in his truck after he shot himself in the face.

German Protestant Church

The Protestant church, just as the Catholic church, is suffering from sex scandals worldwide. In April 2010, the Evangelical Church, the second largest Protestant church in Germany issued an apology to numerous victims. In Dusseldorf, the vice-president of the church, Petra Bosse-Huber, said on March 22, 2010, “We are ashamed and upset that such infringements apparently also happened in our church and in our social welfare department. We ask the victims for forgiveness."
Sex Abuse in Other Faiths

There is a serious epidemic of clergy members in many faiths who are committing sexual abuse crimes. One of America’s most wanted fugitives is a man who had a leadership position within the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Frederick McLean is charged with 17 counts of child sex abuse.

Church sex abuse scandals has no denomination boundary and all churches must become more diligent in protecting children and youth who attend church.

Sinead O'Connor, singer and songwriter, sent a message that should be applied to all faiths. In an April 23, 2010 interview about the Catholic scandals in Ireland, O'Connor told Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, "It's our church I think we need to reclaim it and we need to have it run by people who actually believe in God."

Read more at Suite101: Sex Abuse in the Protestant Church http://sexual-abuse.suite101.com/arti...z0wlkd3xDc