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I expect this will go like it did at the church I attended growing up. They’ll apologize, maybe even shed a tear or two then everything will go back to normal.
The only way to end this is to do something about the underlying system they teach that allows and condones behavior like this. Churches like this treat the leadership like they’re little gods, because to the flock (this is the term they use) they’re literally the voice of God. The pastor (usually) can’t be wrong because that would obviously mean God was wrong, and that can’t happen or the universe disappears in a paradox.
I don’t know what to do about it, but this is (part of) the problem as I see it.
I could maybe see this getting swept under the rug again if she was like 16 but the girl was 12 and he raped her for five years.
I wish I could agree with you there, but I can see news running the story as him being with a 17 year old. 12 + 5 = 17 and I’m sure this guy is rich enough to run a few stories in newspapers glossing over certain details.
I saw a video of a pastor apologizing about banging (raping) a 16 and there were tones of “oh she tempted me” and I’m sorry. He left out the age and just admitted adultery. The congregation forgave him pretty quickly
and the victim not really given too much thought by the church.EDIT: well I went and looked it up. I remembered wrong. Pastor apologizied for adultery but it was with a 16 year for like 9 years. He left that out. The congregation cheered him and told him they loved him anyway. Adultery happens sometimes, right?
Victim ended up telling her story. Explaining the grooming and rape more. Pastor went back up to explain more and the congregation turned on the Pastor, so maybe there is a chance.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100958437/pastor-quits-adultery-woman-says-age-16-abuse
That’s the beauty of this sort of Christianity. Do something atrocious, apologize, get forgiven, then repeat the cycle.
