The wages of sin
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman, September 17, 2010
Chicago Presbytery, a recognized leader among those seeking to remove sexual behavior standards from the Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution, has a new claim to fame: It is now hamstrung by an estimated $11 million debt arising from a sex offense lawsuit.
Complainants alleged that the presbytery’s youth ministry director, the Rev. Douglas R. Mason, sexually abused four minor boys repeatedly over a period of nine years, including taking them out of school during the day to have sex with them. The activities allegedly occurred in various places, including the presbytery office, the youth ministry van and during youth field trips.
Sealed settlement
The presbytery approved a settlement with the victims in 2007, but details were sealed and online access to presbytery reports, minutes and financial records have been password protected.
Although presbytery officials initiated an inquiry after the allegations were made public, the presbytery did not bring charges against Mason. The presbytery’s investigation found “no tangible evidence or third party testimony that would corroborate the plaintiffs’ stories,” said Robert C. Reynolds, the presbytery’s
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executive in a statement released shortly after the civil suit was filed.
Following the presbytery’s inquiries, Mason renounced the jurisdiction of the PCUSA and left town, thereby escaping any further church disciplinary procedures.
Let there be light
When the allegations came to light, one minister in the presbytery, the Rev. James Tony, publicly warned church officials not to enshroud the case with silence. “Churches of all kinds are especially vulnerable to the possibility of enabling repeated misconduct,” Tony said in a letter to The Layman, dated May 22, 2002. “The church is vulnerable because we are supposed to be the agency of forgiveness, redemption and reclamation. So when someone has been found to have done even such a heinous wrong, the church often finds a way to cover for the perpetrator and ‘settle’ with the victim. And then the perpetrator gets another job.
“The problem,” continued Tony, “is that secrecy in these matters actually precludes redemption. And the other problem is that research shows that adults who prey on children repeat their offense despite treatment. What little possibility of recovery exists is almost completely foreclosed by the propensity of church authority to hide the facts and hope the perpetrator will be able to stop this behavior.”
“Whom should the church put at risk,” asked Tony, “the adult minister or leader … or our own children? The choice is difficult, but clear.”
Tony concluded his letter with a warning that proved prophetic: “The inclination is to enter into some monetary settlement agreement to avoid the hassle and the expense of a court proceeding. And then that agreement may get sealed and the truth buried under court orders. If the settlement does not produce a finding about the truth of the accusations against Mr. Mason that can be made public, then we put children further at risk.”
‘No justice, no peace’
Having escaped ecclesiastical and criminal prosecution in Chicago, Mason headed for Miami, Fla., where he found work as an interim associate pastor at the Miami Shores Presbyterian Church for a year, followed by short-term employment with a South Florida academy where he taught a class of learning-disabled teenagers.
Mason died in Florida at the age of 46, according to PCUSA records. The Sunny Isles Police Department reported Mason’s death as unknown causes. Because of his death, he was never a defendant in a civil, criminal or ecclesiastical trial. But that didn’t take Chicago Presbytery off the hook for a lawsuit that appears to have resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement.
Chicago Presbytery in debt
Although details of the settlement were sealed and presbytery records are not available to the public, it is known that following the settlement, the presbytery borrowed between $10 million and $11 million.
The presbytery is now seeking to sell off assets, including its 125-acre camp property on Lake Michigan and its offices in Chicago, in order to pay its debt.
Opposing sexual behavior standards
In 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2008, Chicago Presbytery voted to remove the “fidelity/chastity” standard that is part of the PCUSA constitution. The Rev. John Buchanan and other presbytery leaders played a prominent role in organizing The Covenant Network, a denominational lobbying group that seeks the full inclusion of lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) persons in church leadership positions.
In 1997, after the Covenant Network’s campaign to do away with the denomination’s sexual behavior standards was launched, attorney Robert L. Howard, who was then chairman of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, authored a Layman article in which he warned that failure to uphold ordination standards could pose serious legal liability issues for the denomination. Howard said that the church is best protected by having a clear, unambiguous moral standard firmly embedded in its constitution, along with a demonstrable history of enforcement.
Chicago Presbytery has defied that counsel on two counts: It has repeatedly and vigorously acted to remove the standard (Book of Order G-6.0106b) from the constitution, and its leaders have supported “local option” policies that undermine enforcement of the standard, while giving aid and counsel to persons who openly violate it.