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‘The worst day of my life’: Hillsong leader recalls finding out about late father’s pedophilia
By Tim Rose
[with video] Hillsong leader Brian Houston has spoken of the moment he confronted his pedophile father over sexual abuse allegations. Speaking with Karl Stefanovic on TODAY this morning, he also said his congregation had offered him incredible support after he faced the Royal Commission inquiry last week. Mr Houston’s father Frank, a Hillsong pastor himself, admitted abusing children in the 1970s to his son in 1999. Frank Houston died in 2004. “I confronted my father – [it was] the worst day of my life,” Mr Houston said. “The shock of finding out was just horrendous. “[I] was tense and stressed and I did what I had to do, which was at that time to suspend his ministry credential. “He never ever preached again, never ministered again in any form from that day on.” Mr Houston fronted the Royal Commission last week as his church’s response to abuse allegations was probed. He delivered his first sermon since the grilling yesterday at the church’s Baulkham Hills headquarters and apologised for not immediately reporting the abuse. He said the congregation responded “very warmly” to the sermon. “They gave us a standing ovation,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking. We absolutely care about the victim.” It was revealed last week that the extent of Frank Houston’s abuse of children was yet to be fully uncovered. “It grieves me that my father damaged lives to that extent. He literally destroyed people’s lives,” he said. “It’s a humiliating thing. What worse thing [is there] to be told about your father than that he’s a pedophile? “It’s a cruel blow. I hate pedophilia. “I just do not know how far it went.”
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