JAMAICA
Jamaica Observer
BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
A former minister of the local Moravian Church in Jamaica has accused the church leadership of applying double standards in relation to allegations of sexual misconduct against embattled pastor Rupert Clarke.
Dr Canute Thompson has called on the head of the church, Dr Paul Gardner, to state whether he had fulfilled a promise made in early 2014 to investigate allegations against 64-year-old Clarke, who was recently charged by the police with having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
Dr Thompson accused the church of being inconsistent in its response to charges of misconduct within the church, including “different rules for different individuals” in relation to a variety of issues, including allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I have consistently raised with the church, going back to the 80s, what I have seen as double standards,” Dr Thompson said in a much-publicised response to Clarke’s arrest.
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