NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A prominent leader in the Southern Baptist Convention said he was wrong to support a Kentucky pastor accused of covering up sex abuse.
The Rev. Albert Mohler first addressed the issue Thursday in an interview with the Houston Chronicle . Earlier this week, that paper and the San Antonio Express-News published an investigation detailing hundreds of sex abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches.
In a public statement released on Friday, Mohler apologized and asked for forgiveness for his support of C.J. Mahaney, founder of the Sovereign Grace Ministries network of churches, now called Sovereign Grace Churches. They are not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention but Mohler and some other prominent Southern Baptists have worked closely with Mahaney in the past.
Mohler’s Friday statement says he cut all ties with Mahaney last year after meeting with advocates for the victims. Although he issued a statement at the time calling on any ministry facing sex abuse allegations to submit to an independent investigation, he did not mention Sovereign Graces Churches by name.
“I wish I had spoken more forcefully,” Mohler’s statement reads.