Group Named to Follow up on Sex-Abuse Case

November 4, 2002
by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE – A seven-member work group has been appointed to recommend how the Presbyterian Church (USA) should implement about 30 recommendations of a panel that investigated sexual abuse of missionary children in the Congo by at least one Presbyterian missionary.

In a related action, a letter of apology has been sent to all known survivors of the abuse on behalf of the General Assembly Council (GAC) by four of its leaders.

Barbara Renton, of Afton, NY, the GAC chair, appointed Vernon Carroll, of Cut Bank, MT, the vice chair, to head up the work group, which the GAC's executive committee authorized in response to the 173-page report of its Independent Committee of Inquiry (ICI), which had been appointed in 2000.

The Rev. William Pruitt died before he could be brought to trial by Grace Presbytery in Texas, of which he was a member.

The ICI's report documented 48 incidents of abuse by Pruitt, involving 22 girls. It said the evidence against him was "more than compelling, it was overwhelming." The report also detailed subsequent abuses by Pruitt in Dallas while he was associate pastor at Highland Park Presbyterian Church.

GAC officials moved to implement a number of the ICI recommendations immediately after the report was released on Oct. 1. The task force was authorized by the executive committee during its Sept. 25 meeting to make additional recommendations.

Besides Renton and Carroll, the members of the work group are the Rev. Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD); Winifred Drape, the WMD chair, of Manitowoc, WI; the Rev. Paul Masquelier, retired executive presbyter of San Jose Presbytery; the Rev. Tony Aja, WMD's associate director for people in mutual mission; Patricia Chapman, associate for child advocacy in the National Ministries Division; and Pat Hendrix, administrative assistant in WMD's international volunteer office, who acted as staff liaison between WMD and the ICI.

Laurie Griffith, an attorney in the constitutional services department of the Office of the General Assembly, and Eric Graninger, the GAC's general counsel, will serve as staff support to the work group.

The GAC and the Office of Communication have announced that the full report of the ICI is available on the denomination's Web site: www.pcusa.org/ici.

The full text of the letter of apology, which is dated Oct. 10:

Thank you.

Thank you for listening to the voice within you that urged you to speak out.

Thank you for moving past your fear and into the courage that formed the words of truth.

Thank you for telling us the painful stories of abuse that you experienced as children.

Thank you for your guidance and patience.

On behalf of the General Assembly Council Executive Committee, we deeply apologize for the abuses that you endured on the Presbyterian mission field and in the United States. We are sorry for what you've endured, for what you were denied and for how you were ignored. We acknowledge the abuse documented by the investigation that came about through your righteous insistence that the Church listen to the truth.

Ultimately words fail us in conveying the sorrow we feel. In our search for language, we turn to scripture.

The Psalmist writes, "I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that God may hear me. In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord; In the night, my hand is stretched out without wearying; My soul refuses to be comforted." (Psalm 77:1-2)

Your cries have been heard. We have read carefully the report of the Independent Committee of Inquiry that was charged with investigating reports of abuse in the Congo from 1945-1978, and our hearts are heavy with what we saw in those pages. Our sorrow is turned into compassion and a continuing commitment to pray with you as children of God in search of God's healing grace. We remain committed to a time of healing and renewal for you and your families at a retreat to be conducted in the coming year.

Enclosed with this letter is the action that our committee took on September 25, 2002. As you will see, the Executive Committee has referred the thirty recommendations of the Independent Committee of Inquiry to a work group that will help us assess the most effective way to implement changes designed to prevent abuse within the Presbyterian Church (USA) family of faith.

Your witness does so much more than produce a report. Your acts of faith and your gifts of courage, honesty and integrity present the entire faith community with a new awareness and heightened responsibility.

This work is only beginning, but we would like to keep you informed of our progress and to consult with you in the future as we seek to create a church that does not tolerate abuse. We're making the report available to the public as well. If you would like to receive periodic updates about the work group's efforts and because we don't have your address, please complete and send in the enclosed form. Also, please remember that your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

We find great strength for this work through the witness of your lives. Your courage in facing the past gives us courage as well. We commit to you a full and prompt study of the recommendations, with action before the end of September of next year. We look forward to the journey together in partnership.

With gratitude to God,

Barbara A. Renton, Chair, General Assembly Council

Winnie Drape, Chair, Worldwide Ministries Division Committee

Marian McClure, Director, Worldwide Ministries Division

John J. Detterick, Executive Director, General Assembly Council

Presbyterian News Service