Southern Baptist Convention publishes list of accused sex abusers

2022-06-10 23:24:17 By : Mr. Leo Teng

The Southern Baptist Convention published a list on Thursday evening of hundreds of clergy and other church staff who've been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse.

What they're saying: The release of the 205-page list marks "an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention," per a statement from Rolland Slade, chair of the SBC Executive Committee, and Willie McLaurin, the EC's interim president and CEO.

Driving the news: A damning report published last Sunday found leaders of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. mishandled sexual abuse claims and stonewalled survivors over a 20-year period.

The big picture: Divisions in the evangelical Christian denomination emerged after the clergy abuse allegations came to the fore in a joint 2019 investigative report by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context.