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Albert Mohler:

Every single coach, athletic director, and college or university president awoke this morning to a changed world. Nothing will ever be the same again. The firing of Joe Paterno will send shock waves through the entire world of higher education. A man who a day before had announced under pressure that he would retire at the end of the season was told by phone that he would never coach another game. Penn State University will forever be associated with a scandal the likes of which college athletics has, thankfully, never seen before.

Dr. Mohler goes on to apply this to Christian institutions:

What about churches, Christian institutions, and Christian schools? The Penn State disaster must serve as a warning to us as well, for we bear an even higher moral responsibility.

The moral and legal responsibility of every Christian — and especially every Christian leader and minister — must be to report any suspicion of the abuse of a child to law enforcement authorities. Christians are sometimes reluctant to do this, but this reluctance is both deadly and wrong.

Sometimes Christians are reluctant to report suspected sexual abuse because they do not feel that they know enough about the situation. They are afraid of making a false accusation. This is the wrong instinct. We do not have the ability to conduct the kind of investigation that is needed, nor is this assigned to the church. This is the function of government as instituted by God (Romans 13). Waiting for further information allows a predator to continue and puts children at risk. This is itself an immoral act that needs to be seen for what it is.

A Christian hearing a report of sexual abuse within a church, Christian organization, or Christian school, needs to act in exactly the same manner called for if the abuse is reported in any other context. The church and Christian organizations must not become safe places for abusers. These must be safe places for children, and for all. Any report of sexual abuse must lead immediately to action. That action cannot fall short of contacting law enforcement authorities. A clear lesson of the Penn State scandal is this: Internal reporting is simply not enough.

After law enforcement authorities have been notified, the church must conduct its own work of pastoral ministry, care, and church discipline. This is the church’s responsibility and charge. But these essential Christian ministries and responsibilities are not substitutes for the proper function of law enforcement authorities and the legal system. As Christians, we respect those authorities because we are commanded to do so.

. . . Christian institutions and churches looking at this scandal had better act immediately to ensure that all operate under adequate policies and guidelines. What would prevent this scandal at your school or church?

Church leaders and pastors must decide now — not later — that we will respond to any report of sexual abuse with immediate action and an immediate call to law enforcement officials. We must decide in advance what we will do, and not allow ourselves to think that we can handle such a challenge on our own. Every church and Christian institution needs a full set of policies, procedures, and accountability structures. As leaders, we must develop the right instincts for right action.

He also applies this to his own institution:

We all need an immediate reality check. I discovered yesterday that the policy handbook of the institution I am proud to lead calls for any employee receiving a report of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, to contact his or her supervisor with that report. That changes today. The new policy statement will direct employees receiving such a report to contact law enforcement authorities without delay. Then, after acting in the interests of the child, they should contact their supervisor.

The whole thing is worth reading—and heeding.
Update:  Matt Jacobs, a lawyer and a thoughtful Christian, left a comment below I think is worth highlighting. It will be important to think through the precise wording of any policy changes. Requiring the reporting of any and all “suspicions” to the legal authorities will inevitably result in people using such a policy as blackmail and as a way to ruin reputations. I have personally seen this done, and the stain that remains from a false accusation is deeply damaging. I confess I’m not entirely certain what the precise policy wording should be, but we need our best legal thinkers (with the mind of Christ) working carefully on these issues. Here is part of Matt’s comment:

Obviously, what happened at PSU is horrible and gut-wrenching.  What those boys went through, and continue to go through, is beyond what I can imagine.

As a lawyer, I have seen claims of molestation and abuse later recanted or disproved (factually so), and the blemish on the accused remains—the whispers, the ostracization, the looks, and even physical confrontations.

We need to punish abusers very severely—very, very severely.  However, we also need to remember that we live in a world full of vindictiveness, revenge, hatred, media-hounds, greed, media leaks, and every other thing that should cause us to proceed with caution in these types of situations.  I am speaking generally and absolutely am not saying any of the PSU victims are engaged in any of the aforementioned behavior, nor am I blaming victims of sexual abuse and assault.  I cannot stress that strongly enough.  What I am saying is that there are, in fact, false accusations of sexual abuse, and we need to remember such things as we formulate policies regarding the reporting of those incidents.  Every single allegation needs to be taken seriously and investigated—every single one.  We need to be careful to remember that, with emotional issues, guilt sometimes attaches to the allegation, well before the conviction.  There will be plenty of time and opportunity to severely punish the perpetrator who is proven guilty.  We need to be wary that our actions and policies don’t do so before the conviction.

Ultimately, this should cause us to sadly reflect on the wickedness and power of sin.  The feelings that we have about this particular sin are the feelings that our holy God has about all sin.  Thank and praise God that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are more than sufficient to overcome all of sin and death.  As we contemplate the heinous acts at PSU and the tragedy that has resulted from them, let us also contemplate our own sinfulness and the tragedy that has resulted from those, as well.  Let us repent and cling to Christ even more tightly.

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