Was Santiago “Jimmy” Morales Jr. Named in Southern Convention List of Abusers?
Santiago “Jimmy” Morales Jr., an employee of the Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated San Marcos Baptist Academy, agreed to a deferred adjudication plea deal on a charge of an improper relationship between an educator and a child. His community supervision period of ten years ended in 2018.
Guidepost Solutions SBC Report
According to the Washington Post, a 300-page report was launched on Sunday, May 22, 2022. The document consists of terrible new specifics concerning specific abuse occurrences and sheds light on how denominational authorities actively opposed abuse prevention and change for many years.
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have announced a substantial and independent third-party examination that discovered that abusers were often disregarded, forgotten, or perhaps criticized by upper-level congregation representatives from within this religious denomination of larger than 16 million people. Moreover, it exposed these leaders often lied to their own members to avoid them from being aware of the prevalent sexual wrongdoing.
Continue reading more about the Guidepost Solutions SBC Report
A Past of Overlooked Abuse
For nearly twenty years, victims who were sexually assaulted sought to contact the administration of the “SBC” about the pastors and congregation workers. Almost all of these revealed incidents fell beyond the SOL, making it not clear just how many abusers were in fact charged. According to the document, a super secret record was kept. Nevertheless, survivors’ shouts for fair treatment went unnoticed as leaders from churches and organizations tried to secure themselves instead of those who have actually been taken advantage of by sexual abuse.
One victim recounted being treated with animosity as she alleged she was sexually assaulted by a youth pastor. The accused pastor served in multiple Southern Baptist churches in several states. During a conference with the SBC leaders in 2007, a member of the Executive Council “turned his back to her during her speech and another chortled.”
Accountability in the Baptist Church
Russell Moore, the former head of the SBC’s policy branch, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, specified ‘this is not all Southern Baptists, take a look at all the good we do.’ The Report shows a pattern of stonewalling, retaliation, intimidation, and coverup.” He hopes this document will deliver much-needed change and hold those liable for their actions.
The document alleges that a leading Southern Baptist official was credibly implicated of sexual abuse only 1 month after completing his two-year spell as the convention’s president. The report likewise names 3 prior presidents of the convention, a former vice president, and the former head of the SBC’s administrative arm as prominent SBC leaders who assisted in covering up and even encouraged suspected sexual abusers.
He hopes this report will bring about much-needed reform and hold those accountable for their horrific acts of abuse.
For more information about resources available to survivors in Texas, visit our page: https://abuseguardian.com/sexual-assault-lawyer/texas/sex-trauma-therapist-tx/
Abuse Guardian for Texas
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