Top Southern Baptists stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades, according to a scathing investigative report issued Sunday.
The 288-page report states survivors and others repeatedly shared allegations with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. They were met with resistance and outright hostility from within the top administrative committee, the report says.
The seven-month investigation was conducted by Guidepost Solutions, an independent firm contracted by the Executive Committee.
Last year, delegates at the SBC’s national gathering demanded the committee should not be allowed to investigate itself and set this third-party review into motion.
Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, called the report "surprising" and "shocking," according to The New York Times.
The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination.