Confronting an unprecedented sex-abuse crisis, delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention's national meeting voted Tuesday to make it easier to expel churches that mishandle abuse cases.
The Rev. J D Greear, president of the nation's largest Protestant denomination, said the SBC faced a "defining moment" that would shape the church for generations to come.
"This is not a distraction from the mission," Greear said of the fight against sex abuse. "Protecting God's children is the mission of the church."
Outside the convention hall, about two dozen demonstrators handed out flyers to Southern Baptists and held up signs with messages including: "End church abuse cover-ups" and "Be like Jesus: Take abuse seriously & love victims."
"What I want to say to my own family of Southern Baptists: Our family is sick. We need help," Moore said at a panel discussion Monday night. "We have this built-in disesteem for women and it's got to change."
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