A "scathing" 288-page investigative report about clergy sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention was released Sunday. And just like the Catholic Church (which, as I recall, was regularly attacked for their own sex scandal by the same Southern Baptist leadership), where you have a patriarchal institutional, you inevitably have systemic sexual exploitation. Via the Associated Press:

These survivors, and other concerned Southern Baptists, repeatedly shared allegations with the SBC’s Executive Committee, “only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC,” said the report.

[...] “Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse ... and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC,” the report said.

“In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy – even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” the report added.

Turns out an Executive Committee staffer kept a list of Baptist ministers accused of abuse, but no one “took any action to ensure that the accused ministers were no longer in positions of power at SBC churches.”

Just like Jesus would do! Ha ha, just kidding. Organized religion isn't about Jesus anymore, it's about raw power.