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| They were terrorized, trapped and even sexually abused. Now, these former members of independent fundamental Baptist churches share how their experiences will affect the rest of their lives. |
In the spirit of Christmas when Christians purport to feel goodwill to all, it seems only fair to Catholics to bring news that shows their priests, bishops and cardinals are not the only Christian clergy who take advantage of their position to sexually abuse children and vulnerable adults. As these two reports show, the clergy of other Christian churches do the same when the opportunity arises.
First, a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram revealing how the practice of sexually abusing vulnerable people by pastors in Independent Baptist churches is commonplace, as is the practice of cover-up and moving priests to other locations where they can continue abusing an unsuspecting congregation, just like the Catholic Church does:
According to this report, there are at least 412 allegations of sexual misconduct in 187 independent fundamental Baptist churches and their affiliated institutions, spanning 40 states and Canada.
For decades, women and children have faced rampant sexual abuse while worshiping at independent fundamental Baptist churches around the country. The network of churches and schools has often covered up the crimes and helped relocate the offenders, an eight-month Star-Telegram investigation has found.
More than 200 people — current or former church members, across generations — shared their stories of rape, assault, humiliation and fear in churches where male leadership cannot be questioned.
“It’s a philosophy — it’s flawed,” said Stacey Shiflett, an independent fundamental Baptist pastor in Dundalk, Maryland. “The philosophy is you don’t air your dirty laundry in front of everyone. Pastors think if they keep it on the down-low, it won’t impact anyone. And then the other philosophy is it’s wrong to say anything bad about another preacher.”
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Twenty-one abuse allegations were uncovered exclusively by the Star-Telegram, and others were documented in criminal cases, lawsuits and news reports. But victims said the number of abused is far greater because few victims ever come forward.
One hundred and sixty-eight church leaders were accused or convicted of committing sexual crimes against children, the investigation found. At least 45 of the alleged abusers continued in ministry after accusations came to the attention of church authorities or law enforcement.
The power of the Independent Baptist pastors comes from an authoritarian culture where from childhood, members of the church are warned that the pastor is the supreme authority on all matters, even above the law. Children are taught the story from the Bible of Elisha calling up bears to kill children who taunted him for being bald.
One pastor, Pastor Jim Vineyard, founder of the Windsor Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, told stories from the pulpit, illustrated by gruesome pictures of dead people, to terrify the congregation. In one story, he related how a man in the picture had voted against him coming into the church as a pastor. The man allegedly got into a car, crashed it and broke his neck. In another version, the picture was the son of a Windsor Hills family who had decided to leave the church. As they drove away the car crashed and the son was killed.
Time and again, the congregation were warned that disobeying Pastor Jim Vinyard would result in terrible divine retribution. So strong is this indoctrination that one former member, Jennifer McCune, who came forward with allegations of being raped when she was 14 years old, still wonders whether God punished her by killing her late husband with cancer.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram site contains numerous videos of women relating their experiences at the hands of Baptist preacher.
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| Joao Teixeira de Fari. Credit: Agencia Brasil/AP |
The second report to give comfort to Catholics is from Brazil, where a charismatic 'faith healer', Joao Teixeira de Faria, who calls himself 'John of God', has been accused of sexual abuse by 258 women. Faria came to fame in 2013 when Oprah Winfrey reported on his supposed psychic powers. He is also reported to have performed miraculous surgery without anaesthetic.
He has a 'healing' centre in the town of Abadiania. Such is his fame that the small Brazilian town has a thriving economy dependent on the thousands of Brazilians who go there seeking miracle cures.
Allegations began last Friday when a Dutch choreographer, Zahira Maus, appeared on a late-night Globo TV chat show and accused Faria of sexually assaulting her. Staff at the TV network had spent three months investigating Faria and had interviewed 12 other women who also alleged he had sexually abused them. This opened the floodgates for more women to come forward after the broadcast.
The assaults, which Faria vigorously denies, are alleged to have taken place during spiritual 'healing' sessions at Faria's private quarters at the healing centre in Abadiania which he opened on 1976. A group of his supporters gathered to harass journalists who arrived in the town after the news broke.
This guy was an Episcopalian minister, married with two daughters, later defrocked, but hired as sexton, functioned for almost 30 years - 450 victims.
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