Johnny Hunt, Disgraced Former SBC Pastor, Sues Denomination He Once Led
A disgraced former Southern Baptist president is suing the denomination he once led, saying he was defamed by allegations he assaulted another pastor’s wife.
Pope Francis at 10 Years: A Reformer’s Learning Curve
Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down.
French Church Abuse Victims Get Reparations, and Recognition
France’s Catholic bishops’ conference agreed to provide reparations after a 2021 report estimated some 330,000 children were sexually abused over 70 years by priests or other church-related figures in France.
SBC President Bart Barber Says Predecessor Johnny Hunt Is Unfit to Return to Ministry
“I would permanently ‘defrock’ Johnny Hunt if I had the authority to do so,” Bart Barber, sitting president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a statement released Tuesday. Hunt, who served as president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination from 2008 to 2010, stepped aside
Pastors Say Johnny Hunt, Former SBC President Accused of Abuse, Can Return to Ministry
Disgraced former Southern Baptist Convention President Johnny Hunt plans a return to ministry after completing a restoration process overseen by four pastors, according to a video released last week. Hunt, a longtime megachurch pastor in Georgia, was named earlier this year in the Guidepost Solutions
The Other DOJ Investigation
In this issue of A Public Witness, we look at what’s known about the new DOJ investigation, how people are responding in divergent ways, and what these responses illuminate about how Christians are thinking about issues of politics and legal accountability.
Department of Justice Investigating Southern Baptists
Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention said Friday that several of the denomination’s major entities are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice in the wake of its multiple problems related to clergy sex abuse.
The Next Southern Baptist Investigation
In this issue of A Public Witness, we call on state attorneys general to open investigations into Southern Baptist entities and conventions. After reviewing reactions to the Guidepost report, we build our case by examining the precedent set with similar state investigations into the Catholic Church.
Southern Baptist Leaders Mistreated Abuse Survivors for Decades, Report Says
A blockbuster report found that SBC lawyers worked for years to protect the institution and demonized abuse survivors and accused a prominent pastor of abusing a colleague's wife.
Southern Baptist Leaders Apologize to Sex Abuse Survivor
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee has offered a public apology and a confidential monetary settlement to sexual abuse survivor Jennifer Lyell, who was mischaracterized by the denomination’s in-house news service when she decided to go public with her story in March 2019.