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	Retribution or Protection: Churches Deal with Legal and Ethical Responsibility By Joey Ferguson Deseret News May 10, 2011 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700134229/Retribution-or-Protection-Churches-deal-with-legal-and-ethical-responsibility.html As churches grapple with claims of sexual assault amid their ranks, religious leaders find themselves caught between owning up to past transgression and following legal advice. USA Today reported Tuesday that the Vienna, Va., Presbyterian Church is dealing with cases of sexual abuse by their youth ministries director. The church admitted to their congregants that they had failed in handling the reports; they also received a warning from their insurance company. The warning from GuideOne, the church's insurance company, urged the church not to "not make any statements, orally, in writing or in any manner, to acknowledge, admit to or apologize for anything that may be evidence of or interpreted as the actions of Vienna Presbyterian Church." Churches are finding themselves in a legal bind in their desire for retribution. Seeking forgiveness is an admission of guilt, which frustrates insurance companies trying to protect these groups. Cover-up policies in these situations cause just as much, if not more, trouble than atoning alternatives. The Daily Times in Delaware County, Pa. reported that the Archbishop of Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali and other archdiocesan officials are being sued for the alleged sexual abuse of a man who lived in Philadelphia as a child. The plantiff was about 15 when he worked at a rectory in Philadelphia where Rev. Robert L. Brennan allegedly abused him. The lawsuit claims archdiocesan officials knew that Brennan had past issues with inappropriate behavior with boys before his encounters with the plantiff. "Despite those dire warnings, Cardinal Bevilacqua appointed Father Brennan as the assistant pastor of Resurrection parish where Father Brennan sexually bused the plantiff," according to part of the lawsuit found in the article. On a separate occasion,reports that the pastor and two elders of the Valley Christian Church in Center Conway knew of fellow church elder Joel Clements' sexual misconduct and did not report it. The girl's parents informed the church leaders of Clements actions in 2009. Clements was indicted on sex charges involving the 12-year-old girl on May 10. Though legal pressures sway many decisions, some religious groups, like Vienna Presbyterian Church, have refused to abandon their standards. EMAIL: jferguson@desnews.com
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