Southern Baptist Convention Publishes 205-Page List of Pastors and Church Leaders Accused of Sexual Abuse

Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 205-page list Thursday evening of hundreds of ministers and other church workers it described as being “credibly accused” of sexual abuse.

The list’s public release is one of the first definitive steps the denomination’s leadership has taken in the wake of a nearly 300-page report about its handling of alleged sexual abuse over the last 20 years.

The list’s publication on the denomination’s website was “an initial, but important, step towards addressing the scourge of sexual abuse and implementing reform in the Convention,” Rolland Slade, the chairman of the denomination’s executive committee, and Willie McLaurin, the committee’s interim president and chief executive, said in a statement. “Our prayer is that the survivors of these heinous acts find hope and healing, and that churches will utilize this list proactively to protect and care for the most vulnerable among us.”

The report released Sunday by the denomination, prepared by a third-party investigator, said that national leaders of the group suppressed claims of sexual abuse and stymied proposals for reform over two decades. Though Southern Baptists have grappled with abuse allegations for years, the report sent shock waves through its churches for its descriptions of how leaders ignored and stifled victims’ pleas for help and resisted reforms. Among the most disturbing revelations, Southern Baptist pastors and members said, was that leaders kept a secret list of reported abusers but appeared to take no action to ensure the people on the list were no longer in positions of influence in Southern Baptist settings.