CAM Molestation Issue

[steve-in-kville]

I may have said this before, but I'm a bit shocked that the local papers/media in Lancaster County hasn't latched on to this yet. They do to anything else that involves the plain community.

[joshuabgood]

I don't believe everything I read, but the next few days should prove to be interesting. Again, I pray for those that were hurt.

I talked with the person at CAM who is responsible for this matter. Some things in the blog report are accurate and awful. Other things are not accurate.

John Coblentz has observed that there is often compassion for those who are hurt, but little to none for the perpetrator. He has encouraged people to have compassion for both.

I agree the perpetrator needs compassion too. And I feel bad for him and his family having to carry the knowledge of what he did and the harm that it brought to children and to the work of CAM. It's a burden that comes with a really high cost. That said, there are real questions that need to be answered by CAM regarding the timing of the statement.

I am willing to listen with an open mind to their answers. But I sure hope they come clean and a express a willingness to open up to an independent investigation. Anything short of that fails...

Josh

[Ernie]

Ephesians 5:11
Paul says we should expose works of darkness. I'm definitely in favor of more accountability, more screening of Christian workers and more transparency among those who need to know about a person's background, etc.

I'm not in favor of publicizing the details of darkness. In verse 12 Paul says it is a shame to speak about the things "dark people" do in secret.

And of course the Bible often talks about bearing false witness and sharing perspectives and conclusions that are intended to put others in bad light. Some of this was done in the blog that hit the internet yesterday. Some of course was true.

I don't understand why people feel a need to judge quickly before knowing all the facts.
https://maxlucado.com/woodcutters-wisdo ... e-stories/

Some feel that irreparable damage has been done by not making a public statement earlier on. I can't speak to that.
From what I know of the more conservative Anabaptist supporters of CAM, they would not believe the first stories that hit the web and they would be willing to wait for a report from someone they trust.

[queserasera_2]

John Coblentz has observed that there is often compassion for those who are hurt, but little to none for the perpetrator. He has encouraged people to have compassion for both.

Often the opposite is actually true in the community who is affected. The Bible says says a drowning by millstone would be better for them.

It would be a lot easier if he was sorry before he'd been caught.

[Josh]

I don't believe everything I read, but the next few days should prove to be interesting. Again, I pray for those that were hurt.

I talked with the person at CAM who is responsible for this matter. Some things in the blog report are accurate and awful. Other things are not accurate.

John Coblentz has observed that there is often compassion for those who are hurt, but little to none for the perpetrator. He has encouraged people to have compassion for both.

The person writing the blog has far more credibility than CAM does, at this point. Plenty of “compassion” has been shown for predator; none has been shown for the victims.

I feel compassionate towards the predator. I want him to repent. He has a pattern of decades of this kind of behaviour. It is not compassionate to accomodate him to continue offending.

[joshuabgood]

Ephesians 5:11
Paul says we should expose works of darkness. I'm definitely in favor of more accountability, more screening of Christian workers and more transparency among those who need to know about a person's background, etc.

I'm not in favor of publicizing the details of darkness. In verse 12 Paul says it is a shame to speak about the things "dark people" do in secret.

And of course the Bible often talks about bearing false witness and sharing perspectives and conclusions that are intended to put others in bad light. Some of this was done in the blog that hit the internet yesterday. Some of course was true.

I don't understand why people feel a need to judge quickly before knowing all the facts.
https://maxlucado.com/woodcutters-wisdo ... e-stories/

Some feel that irreparable damage has been done by not making a public statement earlier on. I can't speak to that.
From what I know of the more conservative Anabaptist supporters of CAM, they would not believe the first stories that hit the web and they would be willing to wait for a report from someone they trust.

I don't think folks need to know details...I certainly don't need or want to. But I would like to see a statement that expresses a commitment to owning the problem and a commitment to an outside independent investigation. I think the issue is trust has been broken and it needs to be restored.

[joshuabgood]

Something like this:

We at CAM are deeply sorry for the tragedy that occurred in Haiti. One of our staff members sexually assaulted many children. We have turned over the criminal investigation to the FBI and they are working to uncover the full scope of the crimes. As his employer we are committed to supporting the many victims in this case. We are so sorry this happened to the innocent children. We are so sorry for the damage this does to the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. We will submit to the Haitian government as they seek justice for the victims. We are doing tremendous soul searching on our part to understand how this could have happened without our knowledge. We are inviting a complete independent investigation, to evaluate the structures of power in our institution, including HR and Supervision, and to provide a public report available for all donors. Additionally we are asking any of our staff members or former staff members, without fear of recrimination, to contact ____________ with any additional concerns that you may have of similar issues in our organization. Further, we apologize for not issuing this statement quicker. The gravity and breadth of this crime against God left us unsure of how to process the case. Please pray that God's will would be done. We will publicly update this statement regularly.

Something like that I think would go a long way...

[steve-in-kville]

I don't think folks need to know details...I certainly don't need or want to. But I would like to see a statement that expresses a commitment to owning the problem and a commitment to an outside independent investigation. I think the issue is trust has been broken and it needs to be restored.

I agree with the way you worded this.

The reason that some people become so anti-Mennonite/amish, is we act "holier-than-thou". And then when something like this breaks the news, we expect everyone to understand, respect privacy, and accept the fact that "we are only human."

[Bootstrap]

John Coblentz has observed that there is often compassion for those who are hurt, but little to none for the perpetrator. He has encouraged people to have compassion for both.

What does that compassion for the perpetrator look like? I would hope people would visit him in prison, write to him, pray for him. I would also hope they would fully cooperate with the FBI - as I think they have been doing.

But surely it's appropriate to be angry, shocked, devastated by this level of sin and betrayal of trust. It's not just CAM, it's just about any place we trust to care for our children - schools, churches of various denominations, Boy Scouts, summer camps - and not just children. And religious groups are not the only ones in denial. The perpetrators are often people we know and like in our communities, family members, friends. We have a hard time believing these people could ever do such a thing. We don't want to hear it.

And we want to be able to just trust people in our communities to do the right thing. After all, we built these communities for, to protect us against a sinful world and to show the world what the Kingdom of God looks like. And maybe that's what some of the perpetrators were hoping they would do before they got carried off in sin.

Leaders need accountability and mentoring. We always need to be on the lookout for signs that something is going wrong. We need to really listen to each other, not just to the leaders, and be ready to listen when someone says there is something wrong with leadership. When we don't have that, it's just a matter of time before things go South.

[QuietObserver]

I agree with Ernie that the details don’t have to be public. I don’t think accusing the blog author of false witness will help rebuild trust. I think the author of the blog doesn’t trust CAM and is trying to force them to do the right thing.

I think CAMs donors deserve to know:
1. What did headquarters know and when?
2. What is the policy of CAM on molestation allegations?
3. How is CAM going to care for the victims?