What happened in the Southern Baptist Convention? Denomination faces DOJ investigation over alleged clergy misconduct cases

In light of its numerous claims regarding clergy abuse, the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) announced on Friday, August 12, 2022, that the U.S. Department of Justice is looking into a number of the denomination's major organizations.

Although not many details about the investigation have been provided by the SBC leaders, it was clear that it dealt with the pervasive abuse issues that have shaken the country's largest Protestant denomination.

A statement on behalf of the members, including Executive Committee members, presidents of seminaries, and leaders of the missionary organization's stated:

“This is an ongoing investigation and we are not commenting on our discussions with DOJ."

The statement further read:

“Individually and collectively each SBC entity is resolved to fully and completely cooperate with the investigation,” the statement said. “While we continue to grieve and lament past mistakes related to s**ual abuse, current leaders across the SBC have demonstrated a firm conviction to address those issues of the past and are implementing measures to ensure they are never repeated in the future.”

The Justice Department has not yet issued any statements in regards to the case.

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Southern Baptist Convention is accused of mishandling abuse claims and mistreating victims

Earlier this year, a 288-page study from an outside consultant, Guidepost Solutions, was made public by the Southern Baptist Convention abuse task panel.

Disturbing revelations about how denominational leaders handled charges and mistreated abuse victims were revealed by the firm's independent seven-month inquiry.

In a May interview with ABC News Live, the then-president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Ed Litton, said the damning independent investigative report on sex abuse allegations was "overdue." He said:

"The rumors were always out there that these things were happening," Litton said on "ABC News Live. There were several attempts made at our convention meetings to bring this to light. But they were very successfully pushed down."

SBC has been urged to acknowledge the scope of abuse for years by survivors of assault in religious settings of churches.It was assisted by the emergence of the #ChurchToo movement, an offshoot of the larger #MeToo movement, which called out religious leaders who had covered up or otherwise handled abuse allegations improperly in addition to predators.

Christa Brown, a survivor of the abuse who has long urged the SBC to take action against the atrocities in all of its churches, welcomed the DOJ probe.

She tweeted on Friday:

"Hallelujah. Time has come. This is what is required."

Another survivor, Jules Woodson, who made her abuse tale public in 2018 and has since advocated for SBC reforms, also tweeted when the probe news broke on Friday. According to their attorneys, the SBC Executive Committee has received a subpoena, but no persons have been summoned as of yet.