CAM Molestation Issue

[steve-in-kville]

While I am very much moved on behalf of victims in cases like this, I didn't appreciate the tone of the "blog post". I am not defending CAM - I have had disagreements with their policies in the past, and I have heard from former staff about other issues. But let's not do a "Smollett" knee-jerk reaction.

If I understand right, she was raised in an Anabaptist home and was abused. I don't blame her for her tone or whatever slant she put to this.

Also, scroll all the way down the link. She has a disclaimer that her post was approved by Haitian missionaries and there is more info she is not at liberty to share.

[Judas Maccabeus]

Finding a lawyer to do that will be nearly impossible. Doing what we consider to be right would be legal malpractice. And once the lawyer is in the room, there will be a tendency to defer to his advice.

J.M.

Why would a lawyer doing what he was hired to advise you and help you navigate the legal process, be considered legal malpractice?

They will see themselves having a fiduciary responsibility to the corporation and will likely be unwilling to do anything that will go against what he will perceive as its interests. Reason will be that he himself will fear getting sued by shareholders/stakeholders of the corporation. I have seen what I consider to be good men cave. I was one of those men.

J.M.

[MaxPC]

I hesitate to speak as well knowing that it is easy to be an armchair quarterback in these situations but from the little I know and have read this morning I am going to say that CAM must issue a response to their constituency as quickly as possible and I mean like today. Perhaps in not saying anything till now the damage has already been done and cannot be repaired but the fact is that they need to issue one quickly and it needs to be believable. If I were advising them I would be suggesting they invest in a professional publicist to deal with this.
Anything issued must include a strong desire to do all that can be done to help the victims directly involved. If this is not a classic example of why hiding this stuff rather than dealing with it right away is a very bad idea than I do not know what is.

I pray and hope that this is some terrible misunderstanding but I am fearful it is not. Again the sooner they issue a statement the better IMO.

With Appleman and others, I agree this is terrible for the victims and clarity needs to be articulated from CAM. These stories are appearing in all organizations: Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, on and on and on. Is it the era in which we live where porn is easily accessible? Is it because more are willing to speak out about such grave matters? Who can say but I do agree that the statements of both the accused and the accusers need to be investigated for veracity and the truth be exposed.
Sad. Very sad. We will keep everyone in prayer.

[silentreader]

I am not familiar with the present situation, but would definitely come down on the side of the victims.
I am, however, somewhat familiar with the writer of the blog, and would advocate some caution in considering the goals of the writer.

[Peregrino]

The public statement is now live. I am definitely following this with much interest. I find the prolonged silence on this quite disturbing but want to withhold judgment until I feel more confident that I have complete information.

[MaxPC]

The public statement is now live. I am definitely following this with much interest. I find the prolonged silence on this quite disturbing but want to withhold judgment until I feel more confident that I have complete information.

Thank you, Peregrino. It will all be painful but necessary, sad to say.

Today through Thursday our bishops are meeting in Baltimore to address our own problems with accountability as well as some liturgical housekeeping type topics. Please pray for us as well.

[Josh]

While I am very much moved on behalf of victims in cases like this, I didn't appreciate the tone of the "blog post". I am not defending CAM - I have had disagreements with their policies in the past, and I have heard from former staff about other issues. But let's not do a "Smollett" knee-jerk reaction.

I think it's time to stop shooting the messenger. This situation spans back over a decade. If it had been dealt with properly, the blog post wouldn't have had to happen.

If you had been dealing with this better, the blog post wouldn't have had to happen. That's true for all of us. None of us dealt with this properly, protected the victims, brought CAM to account, or brought any of this into the light of day. We thus have zero right - absolutely none - to criticise the blog post.

And I have strong confidence the blog post is almost entirely true. The author has a lot of credibility, and CAM and the church the perpetrator belongs to, and the plain Anabaptist community at large, do not have a lot of credibility right now.

[steve-in-kville]

My mind is officially blown.

I predict a windfall of more victims coming forward, either legit or otherwise. if word gets out that CAM is making cash settlements to victims, they're gonna need those lawyers!

[Hats Off]

We all speak from our own experiences and that, I believe is what Trudy is doing. Many of us find it easier to understand CAM than to understand Trudy. But her personal experiences as a child and teen, plus her subsequent experience in working with girls who have been hurt, certainly influence her perspective. She has seen things that we only hear about. I don't know Trudy but respect what she is trying to accomplish.

I grieve for the victims as well as the perpetrator but my biggest concern is for anyone who enables these things by not acting when evidence is brought forth. Protecting the perp is not helpful; we need to make sure we properly investigate any allegations so we don't ruin an innocent person's life. However, too often, the alternative is to allow more lives to be ruined as we take time to conduct our investigations.

I really thought we were doing better at properly dealing with these issues. However, as has been said before, let us not be too fast to condemn CAM as an organization based on early reports. If anyone of us has known of these issues and only engaged in gossip or stayed silent, we are hardly innocent.

[Hats Off]

Whatever else happens, Trudy is making sure that this does not get swept under the rug. This is important!

This is her latest post:
In Harold Herr’s own Voice… CAM/Life knew; Jeriah tells the Law & Repentance Pizza Party
June 11, 2019Splsh4Ripls