Letter: Accountability for sexual abuse in SBC churches
I beg to differ with the newly elected Southern Baptist Convention president, Willy Rice. I don’t think the many abused women in SBC life would agree with him either.
If there had been accountability 30 years ago, perhaps the seminary student/youth minister would not have gotten off scot-free and been allowed to climb the denominational ladder of success following his sexual abuse of my niece.
He would have been stopped short by church and denominational leaders before he became the second most important leader in the South Carolina convention and held to account for is abuse.
But he wasn’t, and Mark Aderholt finally faced his accuser in a Texas court and received his just punishment in 2019.
The Roman Catholic Church, a numerically superior denomination has finally faced up to the tremendous cost their “turning a blind eye” has done—hurting their churches, ministers, and victims. Southern Baptists should be grateful our denomination hasn’t had to suffer the toll and paid the financial cost they have.
But vigilance and accountability must be maintained lest we sink back into that mire again.
Bob Gillchrest
San Diego, Calif.
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