Southern Baptists vote to probe leaders sex abuse response
TRAVIS LOLLER and PETER SMITH, Associated Press
June 16, 2021
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1of18Incoming Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton, center left, talks with outgoing President J. D. Greear, center right, at the conclusion of the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.Mark Humphrey/APShow MoreShow Less
2of18Incoming Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton, standing at left, and outgoing President J. D. Greear, kneeling at right, talk with denomination members following the conclusion of the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.Mark Humphrey/APShow MoreShow Less
Who is Ed Litton? Meet the Alabama pastor elected president of Southern Baptist Convention. Duane W. Gang and Holly Meyer, Nashville Tennessean
Southern Baptists vote to debate sex abuse probe
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NASHVILLE Ed Litton would have been happy remaining a local church pastor.
Instead, Litton finds himself leading the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. as it faces continued divisions over race, a sex abuse crisis and the role of women in ministry.
Litton, elected Tuesday as the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is seen by many as a pastor who can help Southern Baptists unite and avoid an exodus of minority members worried about whether they have a future home in the conservative denomination.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to create a task force to oversee an independent investigation into the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse.
The resolution calls for the newly elected SBC president, Alabama pastor Ed Litton, to appoint the task force, which will head up a review of allegations that the denomination’s Executive Committee mishandled abuse cases, intimidated victims and advocates and resisted reforms.
It would also investigate the work of a credentials committee that was created in 2019 with a mandate to exclude congregations that fail to respond to sex abuse cases.
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Southern Baptists vote to debate sex abuse investigation
The move comes on the concluding day of the two-day gathering of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, attended by more than 15,000 voting delegates.
By TRAVIS LOLLER and PETER SMITHAssociated Press
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to have a floor debate on a proposed investigation into the denomination’s handling of sexual abuse.
The SBC’s business committee had planned to refer the proposal to its Executive Committee – the same entity alleged to have failed in its response to abuse cases – but the vote put the measure back out on the floor for discussion in the afternoon.
Southern Baptists vote to investigate leaders sex abuse response
Travis Loller and Peter Smith
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly this week to create a task force to oversee an independent investigation into the denomination s handling of sexual abuse.
Separately, the convention approved its most absolutist statement yet in opposition to abortion, a resolution calling for its immediate banning without exception and calling it a crime against humanity that must be punished equally under the law.
The measure calls for the newly elected SBC president, Alabama pastor Ed Litton, to appoint the task force, which will head up a review of allegations that the denomination s Executive Committee mishandled abuse cases, intimidated victims and advocates, and resisted reforms.