JAMAICA
Jamaica Observer
BY JEDIAEL CARTER
Observer staff reporter
carterj@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, August 27, 2017
The spate of revelations that clergy leaders are involved in sexual misconduct has sharpened the divide between the church and the state.
That is the view of Napoleon Black, founder of Pastors According to His Heart (PATHH) — a church ministry dedicated to the care of pastors and their families.
“The reputation of the church has been hit hard within the society by these ongoing revelations. It is fuel to the perception of those who see pastors and church leaders as philandering exploiters,” Black stated.
“Some see much of the church in a cynical light — a relic of the colonial era with outdated modes and concepts; while others see the church as essential to the moral fabric of a well-ordered society, even though it is led by fallen men and women in need of grace, but not without responsibility and accountability,” he explained.
The church’s reputation continues to tank with the most recent allegation that pastor of Harvest Temple Apostolic Church on Slipe Pen Road in St Andrew, Kenneth Blake, 56, was charged for allegedly raping and impregnating his ex-lover’s 12-year-old daughter.
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