UNITED STATES
The Courier-Journal

Written by
Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal

Evangelical churches need to confront sexual abuse and cover-ups within their own ranks, according to a statement signed by more than 1,500 people worldwide and promoted by a former sex-crimes prosecutor.

The “Public Statement Concerning Sexual Abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ” was prompted in part by a Maryland lawsuit filed by 11 people against Sovereign Grace Ministries, a denomination now based in Louisville, alleging a cover-up of abuse within its churches.

But Boz Tchividjian — a former Florida prosecutor and founder of GRACE, an organization that consults with Christian groups on preventing abuse and investigating past cases — said the lawsuit underscores larger issues. “We make public statements about so many issues in the American evangelical world, whether it’s Obamacare, gays in the Boy Scouts,” said Tchividjian, now a law professor at Liberty University in…