UUA Clergy Sexual Misconduct Policies & Procedures Are Inexcusably Inhumane
But don't take *my* word for it UUs, take the word of UU clergy sexual misconduct victim, and CSM victims advocate, UUgrrl, as posted to the brand-spanking new 'Breaking the Silence Redux' blog post of her recently resurrected 'Speaking Truth To Power' blog which has been on hiatus for a couple of years.
It is with both "joy and trepidation" that UUgrrl has restarted her archived 'Speaking Truth To Power' blog and, in her first new post in about two years, she writes -
As best I can tell, since 2001 the process for handling (UU clergy misconduct) complaints has become, if anything, more inhumane. There is no longer any excuse for it. As one member (of UUgrrl's UU congregation) said afterwards, “You can’t excuse the inexcusable."
end quote
UUgrrl goes on to blog -
I realized that (to my knowledge) I’m the only survivor of UU clergy sexual misconduct who speaks up. I’ve never thought of it this way before.
I’m also, to my knowledge, the only survivor of UU CSM who has widespread support — my ministers, our director of religious education, old friends, new friends, family, other UU ministers around the country, and now the better part of a good-sized congregation.
Compare that to other victims and survivors of UU CSM. The overwhelming majority have either left Unitarian Universalism or hide their history. And they have good cause. The risks of speaking up are enormous: marriages broken, careers destroyed, public humiliation, and so on.
Put this all together, and a few days ago it dawned on me that I have a moral obligation to speak out. Victims and survivors of UU clergy sexual misconduct have got to have a voice. If those of us who can speak up don’t, will the UUA leadership ever do the right thing?
Who else will hold their feet to the fire?
end quote
To answer UUgrrl's final question. . .
The Emerson Avenger is rather more inclined to light a proverbial fire aka hold a Big Fat U*U Flaming Chalice under the hypocritical U*U asses of those negligent and/or incompetent UUA leaders who are directly or indirectly responsible for the fact that UUA policies and procedures for handling clergy misconduct complaints of all kinds are inexcusably inhumane to borrow a couple of choice words from UUgrrl.
Needless to say, The Emerson Avenger looks forward to UUgrrl's future 'Speaking truth To Power' blog posts which will most likely explain, in her well informed opinion, precisely *how* the UUA and MFC policies and procedures for handling UU clergy misconduct complaints have become "more inhumane" than they were about a decade ago. . . Certainly there has been very little real improvement to these policies and procedures, some of which are clearly NOT in alignment with the First and Second Principles of Unitarian Universalism which ostensibly "affirm and promote" "the inherent worth and dignity of every person" and "justice, equity and compassion in human relations."
It is with both "joy and trepidation" that UUgrrl has restarted her archived 'Speaking Truth To Power' blog and, in her first new post in about two years, she writes -
As best I can tell, since 2001 the process for handling (UU clergy misconduct) complaints has become, if anything, more inhumane. There is no longer any excuse for it. As one member (of UUgrrl's UU congregation) said afterwards, “You can’t excuse the inexcusable."
end quote
UUgrrl goes on to blog -
I realized that (to my knowledge) I’m the only survivor of UU clergy sexual misconduct who speaks up. I’ve never thought of it this way before.
I’m also, to my knowledge, the only survivor of UU CSM who has widespread support — my ministers, our director of religious education, old friends, new friends, family, other UU ministers around the country, and now the better part of a good-sized congregation.
Compare that to other victims and survivors of UU CSM. The overwhelming majority have either left Unitarian Universalism or hide their history. And they have good cause. The risks of speaking up are enormous: marriages broken, careers destroyed, public humiliation, and so on.
Put this all together, and a few days ago it dawned on me that I have a moral obligation to speak out. Victims and survivors of UU clergy sexual misconduct have got to have a voice. If those of us who can speak up don’t, will the UUA leadership ever do the right thing?
Who else will hold their feet to the fire?
end quote
To answer UUgrrl's final question. . .
The Emerson Avenger is rather more inclined to light a proverbial fire aka hold a Big Fat U*U Flaming Chalice under the hypocritical U*U asses of those negligent and/or incompetent UUA leaders who are directly or indirectly responsible for the fact that UUA policies and procedures for handling clergy misconduct complaints of all kinds are inexcusably inhumane to borrow a couple of choice words from UUgrrl.
Needless to say, The Emerson Avenger looks forward to UUgrrl's future 'Speaking truth To Power' blog posts which will most likely explain, in her well informed opinion, precisely *how* the UUA and MFC policies and procedures for handling UU clergy misconduct complaints have become "more inhumane" than they were about a decade ago. . . Certainly there has been very little real improvement to these policies and procedures, some of which are clearly NOT in alignment with the First and Second Principles of Unitarian Universalism which ostensibly "affirm and promote" "the inherent worth and dignity of every person" and "justice, equity and compassion in human relations."
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