CAM Molestation Issue

[justme]

As you consider this situation, first, please pray fervently for all those who may have been harmed or otherwise affected by this conduct. Please also pray for CAM and our Haiti staff to walk through this very difficult situation with godly humility and integrity. The exploitation of anyone, especially children, is devastating to the trust in and impact of any ministry or NGO. Moreover, such abuse by one individual damages the reputation and ministry impact of all those who have worked selflessly over many years to help care for the Haitian people and who have not been part of any harmful conduct.

may have been harmed? how about all those who were harmed. not a possibility, but a certainly of harm.
and it sure sounds to me, that they are more concerned about the harm to their organization's reputation than they are about the harm to the victims.

[appleman2006]

Ok. Right now I am trying really hard not to be angry. That so many people knew or had suspicions of past failings and yet he was allowed to serve. Folks, when will we wake up?

[steve-in-kville]

I mentioned this before.... those lawyers are there for a reason. They (CAM) will be drained of money. The donors stop giving. The lawsuits will not stop being filed. Out of court settlements will be the norm from here on out. This isn't just about Haiti.

[undershepherd]

Ok. Right now I am trying really hard not to be angry. That so many people knew or had suspicions of past failings and yet he was allowed to serve. Folks, when will we wake up?

Steve unfortunately there are going to be many more opportunities to be angry. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There has been systematic and repeated cover ups of abuse and sin in the conservative Anabaptist world for decades. There has been further abuse to victims by leadership who have forced them to "forgive and forget" and then act like nothing has happened. That it has taken this long for the lid to blow off is the only thing that really surprises me any more.

[steve-in-kville]

I get the cover-ups. Its human nature. What gets me is when leadership turns the situation around and makes the victims the "bad guys." Like they deserved what they got and they are wrong for speaking up, and they "had it coming to them." Leadership like that are complete dirtbags and need to be removed,

Its high time we clean house.

[queserasera_2]

There seems to be a pervasive misunderstanding of pedophilia amongst conservative anabaptists. It is likened to other sexual sin such as fornication or adultery. There is no acknowledgement of its deviance, its criminality or its addictive qualities. There seems also to be no knowledge of the fact that virtually no pedophile stops on his own without treatment. Part of that treatment is facing the truth and ugliness of what they've done and almost always requires imprisonment. Denial and minimization are almost universal in a pedophile. Vague confessions before a congregation do them no service.

[JimFoxvog]

As you consider this situation, first, please pray fervently for all those who may have been harmed or otherwise affected by this conduct. Please also pray for CAM and our Haiti staff to walk through this very difficult situation with godly humility and integrity. The exploitation of anyone, especially children, is devastating to the trust in and impact of any ministry or NGO. Moreover, such abuse by one individual damages the reputation and ministry impact of all those who have worked selflessly over many years to help care for the Haitian people and who have not been part of any harmful conduct.

may have been harmed? how about all those who were harmed. not a possibility, but a certainly of harm.
and it sure sounds to me, that they are more concerned about the harm to their organization's reputation than they are about the harm to the victims.

They earlier say

We are actively working to investigate and address this situation and to care for those who have been harmed.

Some clearly have been harmed and they explicitly say they want to care for them. Others may have been harmed. All need prayer.

[mike]

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

I listened to the recording. I understand from this is that Harold Herr, who works for Life Literature, and persons at CAM knew he abused boys in the 2010-2012 time frame. The general impression at that time, based on what Harold said, seems to have been that he repented; I heard Harold say he even accompanied him to apologize to the fathers of the boys he abused. He also informed him that had he been in the States, he would be in prison. This indicates knowledge by at least a few people that a real crime was committed years ago. This in my opinion is more of a problem than the information of recent crimes.

It may be hard to know when repentance has really occurred, and I don't know whether to fault the people who trusted that Jeriah Mast had appropriately repented. We all have to trust people to some extent. But for certain crimes and sins, this one in particular, I find it hard to believe that the person should ever be put back on the mission field, repentant or not.

I say this cautiously because I don't know all the facts. It is difficult to separate the drama and personal agendas of the online discussions from the facts of what really occurred, and I read all posts and comments by individuals with a grain of salt. This is a sad and devastating situation, and we all end up filtering it through our own personal lenses and agendas.

But there are real and underlying facts that must be exposed and dealt with. Facts don't have agendas. The facts will come out in legal proceedings if nowhere else.

I believe that Jeriah Mast must face the justice of the law for his crimes whatever they are and wherever they have occurred. CAM must be forthright with its constituency about the mistakes that people in positions of responsibility made, take responsibility for those mistakes, and communicate what is being done about it. Wounded people must be cared for.

In prison, there are is a class of inmates that receives the scorn and abuse of all other inmates, and that is the child molesters. Often they are kept in isolation for their own safety. It is a special kind of evil that makes people forget their own crimes and sins and become enraged at the worse sins of others. We are witnessing such an uprising of anger. I feel it myself.

I am not sure where all this anger leads; I suspect it does not always lead to good places. I believe it should be channeled into resolve and action that is controlled by the love of Christ.

[appleman2006]

Well said Mike. Thanks for the reminder.

[Judas Maccabeus]

There seems to be a pervasive misunderstanding of pedophilia amongst conservative anabaptists. It is likened to other sexual sin such as fornication or adultery. There is no acknowledgement of its deviance, its criminality or its addictive qualities. There seems also to be no knowledge of the fact that virtually no pedophile stops on his own without treatment. Part of that treatment is facing the truth and ugliness of what they've done and almost always requires imprisonment. Denial and minimization are almost universal in a pedophile. Vague confessions before a congregation do them no service.

True. The one I have regrettably had to deal with the damage he caused had offended in the past, and went on to offend in the future. Most have numerous victims other than the one that came forward, largely silenced due to shame.

Of all sins, this one appears most difficult to let go of. The anabaptist way of quick forgiveness and restoration may not apply to these. Maybe this is the "sin unto death"?

J.M.