美国国家公共电台 NPR--Investigation shows how Southern Baptists responded to reports of sex abuse

Investigation¹ shows how Southern Baptists responded to reports of sex abuse

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Russell Moore of Christianity Today about the results of an investigation showing top Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated³ sex abuse victims over almost two decades.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A newly released report has found that for two decades, leaders of the largest Protestant denomination⁴ in the United States not only ignored sex abuse allegations against church leaders but actively⁵ worked to discredit⁶ accusers. The report, commissioned by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, comes after a reckoning began in 2019. That's when accusations⁷ against church leaders first came to light. They came to light because of investigations⁸ by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News that found hundreds of church leaders and volunteers were criminally charged with sex crimes.

We're joined now by Russell Moore, who previously⁹ served as president of the Ethics¹⁰ and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He resigned from his position last year and now leads the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine. Good morning.

RUSSELL MOORE: Good morning.

FADEL: So I want to start with something you wrote yesterday after you read this report. You said you were wrong when you said the handling of sexual abuse by the Southern Baptist Convention's leadership was a crisis. You wrote that it isn't a crisis. It's an apocalypse. Would you talk about what you read in that report that got you to that word?

MOORE: Well, I was expecting not to be surprised by the report because, after all, I was the one to call for this investigation...

FADEL: Right.

MOORE: ...Having fought through this for so many years. And yet I couldn't believe the callous¹¹ inhumanity evidenced in this report. To see it - to see the very words used by leaders behind closed doors, the tactics being used against survivors¹² and against whistleblowers, it was incredible. I mean, there was too much to even take in. And I said to someone, if I'm shocked by reading this report, then how must the average person in the pew who hasn't seen behind the veil be reeling right now?

FADEL: What shocked you most? What did you read that shocked you most?

MOORE: Well, one of the things that shocked me most is after all of these years of being told - when many of us would ask, how can we do a database that would actually track predators¹³ to make sure that predatory preachers aren't going from one church to the other, we would always be told by these people that we couldn't do it given our polity. Now we know, in this report, that they had a list that they were keeping in secret, not to protect abuse victims but to protect themselves, and that at every point, the question was liability. How do we protect ourselves from these claims? By keeping them quiet. And the language that was used, the amount of motive¹⁴ being revealed there - I honestly don't know what to call this other than a criminal conspiracy¹⁵.

FADEL: Wow.

MOORE: And it's revolting.

FADEL: Now, one of the questions about databases was that there's no top-down hierarchy¹⁶ in the Southern Baptist Convention. So governance takes place at the congressional (ph) level. Is that an excuse for what has happened, that it couldn't be centralized to hold people to account?

MOORE: Well, no. I mean, I think we see that very clearly now, where autonomy and congregationalism - these are being used as a deflection from holding people accountable. I mean, the most minimal¹⁷ levels of accountability - when some of us would simply stand up and mention the names of the churches mentioned in the Houston Chronicle report and say this has to be looked into, that itself was treated as a shocking violation¹⁸ somehow, simply to say these are things we need to look into - along with, of course, as I mentioned in the commentary, constantly the question of, well, we can't say this is a crisis. These are a few bad actors - that sort of language. And yet look at this. Crisis is much too small a word for what happened here.

FADEL: Now, you were a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention when these abuses were happening. You've now left. Did you leave because things weren't changing?

MOORE: Yes. They not only weren't changing, but there was a constant stonewalling and intimidation¹⁹ of anyone who was pointing these things out and speaking to these things. And the worst part is that that went - it's not so much what the bad guys were doing as the fact that the good guys were often very silent and just waiting to see what happened. And so after the last SBC Executive Committee meeting that I would ever attend, I walked out. And my wife said, you know what? If you're still a Southern Baptist by summer, you'll be in an interfaith marriage. And we're committed evangelical Christians²⁰. We love Jesus. And that's actually why we had to leave the people who introduced us to Jesus. And that's heartbreaking.

FADEL: I know you've been speaking to sexual abuse survivors since the release of this report. What are they saying?

MOORE: For many sexual abuse survivors, there's a combination of relief that some of this is out in the light finally but a great deal of trauma²¹ being re-realized in this moment. It's - yesterday and today - these are very difficult days for people who have survived because for many of them, they not only have to relive what they went through but they're able to see in black and white the way that leaders they trusted were talking about them behind closed doors, as crazy or as people who just want to burn everything down. I mean, to see that is retraumatizing for many good and faithful people who have been speaking out about this for years and years.

FADEL: The current Southern Baptist Convention president, Ed Litton, said he was grieved to his core at the findings. And he called on Southern Baptists to prepare to change the denomination's culture and implement²² reforms. Do you have faith that the church will implement reforms?

MOORE: I don't know what the reforms would be. And I'm not saying that they can't have them. I just can't imagine what they would be because the problem here isn't primarily structural²³. There are some structural things that need to be done, and the investigation recommends some of those things. But the primary problem is cultural. There has to be an understanding of the dignity of women, the dignity of the vulnerable and a - an understanding of the way that a mythology²⁴ of a certain group of leaders within the denomination as having essentially²⁵ purchased it with their own blood and able to run it - that has to go away. And I'm not sure how to get there.

FADEL: In the few seconds we have left, you ultimately left the Southern Baptist Convention over this, and it has chipped away at the credibility of leadership. Can that be recovered?

MOORE: I'm not sure. One-point-one million of us have walked away in the last three years. And it will take a Southern Baptist Convention that really takes this seriously in ways that are as vast as the criminality and the cover-ups have been.

FADEL: Russell Moore leads the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today. Thank you for your time.

MOORE: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF BRAMBLES' "TO SPEAK OF SOLITUDE")

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 denigrated   

v.诋毁，诽谤( denigrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The critics have denigrated our efforts. 评论家贬低了我们的努力。 来自互联网
• For that whole group of citizens whose appeals for assistance have been similarly and irresponsibly denigrated. 为所有的申诉求助后，被同样不负责任的诋毁的公众。 来自互联网

4 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

5 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

6 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

7 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 callous   

adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的

参考例句：

• He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
• She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

13 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

15 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

16 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

17 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

18 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

19 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

20 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

21 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

22 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

23 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

24 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

25 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。