I never understood why these abuse allegations are supposed to be investigated by the church leaders. They have a clear incentive to cover it up. The reports of abuse should be made to the police, who should be doing the investigating. Or am I missing something?

They avoid the police because they want to keep reports of sex abuse all in-house so they can muzzle the victims and keep the predators working in their organizations. That way they churches can help the predators can prey on more innocent people.

This is the (religious) way.

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Yes I understand. That’s why the victims should go to the proper authorities and not church leaders.

Well, in many places, the "proper authorities" are part of the church too. So where does that get you? And, if you've been brainwashed from likely birth, you aren't going to want to buck the system. The question is, how do your reach these victims?

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

You forgot to include the church can keep the tax free money rolling in.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

Is there anyone out there who is not a pedophile or an enabler of same? Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, Latter day saints. Who's next?

Gotta love them good ole Christians. Just some of them lust for boys. The rest of them believe it's the dem's in their pizza parlor basements who are hoarding all the young ones.

I think my Methodists are better than most.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I believe us Lutheran's are a pretty good bunch also.

Must be a Kansas thing.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Absolutely shocked that a religious sect founded specifically to support slavery was not on the up and up.

That's the real shit here -- the Complementarianism theology of these institutions has the victims so far turned around that they often believe they're the ones to blame or brought it on themselves. Those who do go to trusted people to get help going to the authorities often are shut down there, gaslight, victim-blamed. Evangelical cultures can be terrible and have harmful theology, but complementarianism institutions take it to a completely different level of ingrained abuse.