wfn.org | Group named to follow up on sex-abuse case

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7504 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04-November-2002
02442

Group named to follow up on sex-abuse case

Inquiry committee's entire report is now available on the Web

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - A seven-member work group has been appointed to recommend how
the Presbyterian Church (USA) should implement about 30 recommendations of a
panel that investigated sexual abuse of missionary children in the Congo by
at least one Presbyterian missionary.

In a related action, a letter of apology has been sent to all known survivors
of the abuse on behalf of the General Assembly Council (GAC) by four of its
leaders.

Barbara Renton, of Afton, NY, the GAC chair, appointed Vernon Carroll, of Cut
Bank, MT, the vice chair, to head up the work group, which the GAC's
executive committee authorized in response to the 173-page report of its
Independent Committee of Inquiry (ICI), which had been appointed in 2000.

The Rev. William Pruitt died before he could be brought to trial by Grace
Presbytery in Texas, of which he was a member. 

The ICI's report documented 48 incidents of abuse by Pruitt, involving 22
girls. It said the evidence against him was "more than compelling, it was
overwhelming." The report also detailed subsequent abuses by Pruitt in Dallas
while he was associate pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church. 

GAC officials moved to implement a number of the ICI recommendations
immediately after the report was released on Oct. 1. The task force was
authorized by the executive committee during its Sept. 25 meeting to make
additional recommendations.

Besides Renton and Carroll, the members of the work group are the Rev. Marian
McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD); Winifred Drape,
the WMD chair, of Manitowoc, WI; the Rev. Paul Masquelier, retired executive
presbyter of San Jose Presbytery; the Rev. Tony Aja, WMD's associate director
for people in mutual mission; Patricia Chapman, associate for child advocacy
in the National Ministries Division; and Pat Hendrix, administrative
assistant in WMD's international volunteer office, who acted as staff liaison
between WMD and the ICI.

Laurie Griffith, an attorney in the constitutional services department of the
Office of the General Assembly, and Eric Graninger, the GAC's general
counsel, will serve as staff support to the work group.

The GAC and the Office of Communication have announced that the full report
of the ICI is available on the denomination's Web site: www.pcusa.org/ici.

The full text of the letter of apology, which is dated Oct. 10:

Thank you.
 
Thank you for listening to the voice within you that urged you to speak out. 
 
Thank you for moving past your fear and into the courage that formed the
words of truth. 
 
Thank you for telling us the painful stories of abuse that you experienced as
children. 
 
Thank you for your guidance and patience.
 
On behalf of the General Assembly Council Executive Committee, we deeply
apologize for the abuses that you endured on the Presbyterian mission field
and in the United States. We are sorry for what you've endured, for what you
were denied and for how you were ignored. We acknowledge the abuse documented
by the investigation that came about through your righteous insistence that
the Church listen to the truth. 
 
Ultimately words fail us in conveying the sorrow we feel. In our search for
language, we turn to scripture.
 
The Psalmist writes,
 
"I cry aloud to God, 
    aloud to God, that God may hear me.
In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord;
    In the night, my hand is stretched out without wearying;
    My soul refuses to be comforted."  (Psalm 77:1-2)		     
 
Your cries have been heard. We have read carefully the report of the
Independent Committee of Inquiry that was charged with investigating reports
of abuse in the Congo from 1945-1978, and our hearts are heavy with what we
saw in those pages.  Our sorrow is turned into compassion and a continuing
commitment to pray with you as children of God in search of God's healing
grace.	We remain committed to a time of healing and renewal for you and your
families at a retreat to be conducted in the coming year.
 
Enclosed with this letter is the action that our committee took on September
25, 2002.  As you will see, the Executive Committee has referred the thirty
recommendations of the Independent Committee of Inquiry to a work group that
will help us assess the most effective way to implement changes designed to
prevent abuse within the Presbyterian Church (USA) family of faith.
 
Your witness does so much more than produce a report. Your acts of faith and
your gifts of courage, honesty and integrity present the entire faith
community with a new awareness and heightened responsibility. 

This work is only beginning, but we would like to keep you informed of our
progress and to consult with you in the future as we seek to create a church
that does not tolerate abuse. We're making the report available to the public
as well.  If you would like to receive periodic updates about the work
group's efforts and because we don't have your address, please complete and
send in the enclosed form. Also, please remember that your comments and
suggestions are always welcome.
 
We find great strength for this work through the witness of your lives. Your
courage in facing the past gives us courage as well.  We commit to you a full
and prompt study of the recommendations, with action before the end of
September of next year.  We look forward to the journey together in
partnership.
 
With gratitude to God,

Barbara A. Renton, Chair, General Assembly Council			
Winnie Drape, Chair, Worldwide Ministries Division Committee	

Marian McClure, Director, Worldwide Ministries Division 

John J. Detterick, Executive Director, General Assembly Council   

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