When leaders at Vienna (Virginia) Presbyterian Church wanted to start a ministry for victims of sex abuse and apologize for incidents at the church more than five years earlier, their insurance company said forget it.
They didn’t.
In fact, the church went public, against the insurer’s—and its lawyers’—advice. First the church’s board wrote a letter to the membership apologizing for their failures in dealing with the accusations when they first arose. Then in a sermon in March, Pastor Peter James told the congregation, including several young women who alleged abuse by a church staff member, “We won’t hide behind lawyers … Jesus said the truth will set us free.”
The lawyers warned the church to make no statements admitting any guilt. But the pastor spoke directly to the young women. “Let me speak for a moment to our survivors,” he said. “We, as church leaders, were part of the harm in failing to extend the compassion and mercy that you needed. Some of you felt uncared for, neglected, and even blamed in this church. I am truly sorry … I regret the harm this neglect has caused you.”
The question now is whether the insurance company will be required to defend the church, should a lawsuit be filed—given that the church directly disobeyed the insurer’s instructions. If churches do not obey, their insurers may not be responsible for financial judgments against the church. The church would have to pay the penalties out of their own pockets.
Jack McCalmon, a lawyer hired by insurers to help churches set up abuse-prevention programs, sees the issue from both sides. “The insurance company has a contract with the church that says, ‘If we’re going to put our assets on the line, we want you to perform in a way that protects our assets and interests.’ [But] the church is in the business of forgiveness, of being forthright and open and truthful, but that often creates liability in a world that’s adversarial, in the judicial world.”
A report by the Pew Research Center shows most courts have ruled that religious organizations may be held liable for “organizational negligence” on the same terms as secular employers in hiring, supervising, or retaining clergy who harm others. And the damage awards and negotiated settlements in these cases involve very significant sums, well into the millions of dollars.
Vienna Presbyterian chose to be truthful. Now they’re waiting to see if they’ll be sued. And if their assets will be covered.
—with info from USA Today and Pew Research (May 2011)
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