Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?-- Matthew
7:1-3King James Version (KJV)
“Let Him Who is Without Sin Cast the First Stone,” is a well-known quotation
from the Bible. In many neighborhoods, the equivalent advice was “people who live in glass houses should not
throw stones.” Both adages have approximately the same meaning. In the
United States and possibly in the world, almost no one with access to news is
unaware of sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. News media
outlets raced almost daily to find another abuse cover-up. However, during that
time there was no national comparison of Protestant scandals of similarity.
Many assumed that Protestant churches escaped that stigma because they operated
differently from Catholic Christians.
In many
cases, those who believed this were right. For instance, although the Southern
Baptist Convention represents a large number of Baptist churches, those
churches operate as autonomous entities. In fact, many Pentecostal and
Evangelical churches operate at the behest of their leader. Traditional
Protestant churches such as Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian and Anglican
all have some type of central governing body. Nevertheless, none of these
faiths is rarely, if ever, examined as a group.
This small
enquiry is broken into multiple categories based on type of crime. The first
section covers just a small number of cases for 2014 and 2015. After that, clergy
crimes are listed by type. Understanding that this report is in no way extensive
in depth, it does represent the various crimes involving Protestant clergy,
which is extensive. Nevertheless, there is no way this short piece could
capture in depth the extent of clerical crime among Protestants.
With that
lack of examination in mind, the following is a high-level examination that
skims the surface of the same crimes perpetrated by the Catholic Church. All
though the cases listed stay focus mainly on convictions, plea agreements,
sentencing and guilty pleas. Included in the scrutiny are such crimes ranging
from murder to bank robbery. However, judging from even a shallow analysis, it
appears that Protestant clergy are just as bad as their Catholic counterparts
are if not worse.
Interestingly,
going through the cases sentencing for similar crimes punishment varied widely
from state to state and city to city. The lopsided application sentencing is
disturbing. Sentences in this investigation ranged from as little of 6 months probation
to 133 years. In some cases, the maximum sentenced was applied, but as mentioned
often it seems the punishment didn’t fit the crime. Nevertheless, perpetrators
in the sexual offense did receive punishment. Whether it was appropriate can
only be determined by the judge issuing sentences and the victim’s family.
NOTE: Some
of these cases have not been adjudicated. Nevertheless, they are public record
and are available as such on line. The report mention above is available by following the link below.
The Mote In Your Eye
The Mote In Your Eye
