Please don’t misunderstand what I just said. The sex crimes committed by one man should never have happened. The failure by a few CAM leaders to report those sex crimes and make that man accountable should never have happened. The seeming attempt to gloss over the situation by multiple CAM leaders who later learned of it should never have happened. (The CAM board of directors has recently clarified their position in a public statement.)
But one thing that absolutely should have happened also happened…the blow-up over this case and the wide-open discussion from many sources who were not willing to let this thing bed down in darkness. We NEED this discussion in our conservative Anabaptist churches.
For those of you (probably non-Anabaptist folk) who have no idea what I’m talking about, it is this:
- Jeriah Mast, an American Mennonite missionary in Haiti molested dozens of school-age boys over a period of many years.
- His Haitian pastor excommunicated him in 2010 for known acts of molestation.
- He was sent home from the mission field in 2012 for “moral failure,” but after he repented, the problem was deemed taken care of. He afterward returned to the mission field and took charge of CAM’s school program, where he had easy access to young boys.
- Pastor Eris, another Haitian pastor, confronted him in May of 2019. He fled Haiti through the Dominican Republic that same night.
- The Haiti Commissioner ordered CAM to appear in court with Jeriah. However, the board said in a public statement they no longer have control over Jeriah, although they believe the right thing for him to do is to appear in the Haitian court to answer for his crimes.
- The FBI is currently investigating similar crimes he committed in the U.S.
I learned these facts from a post by Trudy Metzger detailing her attendance at a court hearing in Haiti and conversations with some of the victims:
from an article by Heather Clark in Christian News:
from a public letter by Andy Faller, an American missionary in Haiti:
and from the public statement put out by the CAM board of directors on June 17.
Following Trudy’s initial post, there has been a flurry of online discussion.
- Trudy has continued to post new information and call out specific people for their failure to report what they knew.
- Other bloggers have weighed in, including Asher Witmer, Rosina Schmucker, and Kendra Horst. I am sure there are many more I have not read.
- Mennonite discussion forums have found this a hot topic, with Dan Zeigler writing a thoughtful and well-received “A Way Forward” on MennoNet. (Thanks to Asher Witmer for the link.)
- Another missionary in Haiti, Breanna Rudolph, pleaded on Facebook that CAM’s donors not make additional victims of poor Haitians and others who depend on CAM’s aid programs by withdrawing their funding.
All these people have addressed multiple facets of the situation from their own perspective. My perspective would add little to the mix, especially considering I have absolutely zero first-hand information of what happened. I have this only to say, and it is a thought taken directly from my wise mother when I mourned that CAM—the honest CAM, the good CAM, the CAM I trusted as completely as I trust my own grandfather—had sullied its name in this unfortunate circumstance. Like Kendra, I worried that their programs, which have helped many, will be hurt by their damaged reputation.
My mom reminded me that hundreds of people in conservative Anabaptist circles have been sexually abused and that multiple leaders in multiple churches across the U.S. and Canada have covered these abuses in silence, have accepted an easy repentance with no consequences for the perpetrator, have blamed or disbelieved the victims. Only recently have we begun to hear their stories.
In our circles in the past, these things just weren’t talked about. Even now, the discussion is muted. But now CAM, the largest umbrella organization in the Anabaptist world, has been hit, and the discussion has blown up in our faces. The Mennonites will hear about this. The Amish will hear about this. The German Baptists and the Brethren and the Beachy Amish will hear about this. A discussion that needed to happen has been forced upon us, and every leader in every Anabaptist church now knows what can happen when sexual abuse is brushed under the rug.
“Maybe,” Mom said, “God thinks it’s time to have some exposure so people sit up and take notice.”
Maybe she is right.
***
Feature photo by Michael Mims on Unsplash
I grieve more for the victims of this criminal than I do for the reputation of the organization that allowed it to happen.
Yes. Just to clarify: I was thinking of the many people who have been and are being helped by this organization and whether the damage to CAM’s good reputation would also affect them.
Pride is one of the reasons churches sweep abuse under the rug. In the end, ignoring the problem is corrosive. You mention the Anabaptist community, which I am familiar with. Also, I saw a news banner last week that declared “Southern Baptists vote to expel churches that mishandle sex abuse charges and racism.”
A move, long overdue, in my opinion.
Marian, I think pride can definitely be a reason. And sometimes just ignorance. If I came across a sexual abuse situation in my earlier days, my immediate thought would not have been to go to the law. My initial response might even have been to keep it quiet…it seems such a shameful subject. However, after hearing numerous discussions on how to correctly handle abuse cases, I know that silence is never a good option and am learning the proper procedures of reporting. Hopefully church leaders will also learn.
Please be careful where your information comes from… information coming from some may not be as accurate as they think.
“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:20-21
Hmm. Makes me wonder why you need to be “anonymous”.
If God wants CAM to survive, it will. We, as a group need to confess our sin. God will deal with us and with CAM.
I personally am very glad this swxual abuse is coming to light and forcing people to face the subject! And I’m grateful for Trudy and all her effirts in fighting for victims of sexual abuse and happy that she and others like her keep pulling those dirty rugs out from under the plain churches feet so to speak! God bless you Trudy!
And altho it seems it will shed bad light on C.A.M I am more concerned for the victims and their families and the pain they have to work through!
And it seems like the pwople that say ” watch where you get your info from etc…” I feel are the ones hiding something under their rug!
That is really an awesome thought… If God wanted this discussion brought forward in the plain community in a broad way, what larger vehicle could there be than CAM? I still respect the humanitarian work they have done, but anyone can fail. God’s purposes will be accomplished.
Thanks for opening the discussion here. Yes it is good when darkness is brought to the light, in all areas, including how to relate to the darkness of abuse. May the message of this song be brought to God’s children every where, by His people: The Father’s Love song…
https://youtu.be/d2Nma0skxRg
A beautiful song, Marc. Thank you.
It seems like the church has it backwards. We publicly condemn those outside the church, while covering up the sins of those inside the church. Paul provides another model in 1 Cor 5. If ever there was a place for excommunication, this situation with Jeriah Mast would be it. For the church to distance itself and publicly proclaim “this is not who we are, and we want no association with this sin, the irreversible wrongs done to these children, or this man until he publicly repents and experiences the consequences of being a lawbreaker (see 1 Pt 2:20). You would do well to read what Jesus’ apostles have to say about church discipline “Anonymous” and also how your Anabaptists forefathers practiced it in the brotherhood. I doubt the early church or those of the radical reformation would be doing what the Weavers or Shining Light Christian Fellowship has done. Those doing good are not afraid of the light of truth.
The reason I like the The Father’s Love song, it is a clear reminder of God’s love to me and to all His children. Both when I and others are innocent and suffer. And also when I and others know the shame of the prodigal. In both cases, the answer is to run to the Father – hiding nothing. We live in a continent of the minority’s view of some being brazenly pushed on all. May the Christian’s light shine bright! And not be covered or tainted.
Your saintly mother is absolutely right. I am astonished at the comments I have read online by people who seem more concerned about CAM, the reputation of the Mennonites, and even of Jeriah himself, than they are about what happened to the boys–all of whom face monumental odds in a LIFETIME of recovery.
I know. I’ve been there.
Amen. Thank you for this insightful comment which places our focus squarely where it belongs.
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Lucinda, thank you for writing about this and all the other writing you do. Is there anything you would recommend in my effort to reconcile staying conservative Anabaptist with my instinct to flee (which isn’t a feasible option right now), and remaining sane and Christian? How do I reconcile the response of Jeriah’s church (unbelievably unChristian), and of CAM (not at all transparent), and the shrug-it-off response of many (not all) conservative Anabaptists with following Christ? We are approaching 2.5 years after this incident and I’m still not over it. I don’t know how to get over it….
Hi Hannah, I have been thinking about this and sent a reply to the email address you included. I don’t feel I have a complete answer, but I shared a few thoughts that came to mind in the hope they may help. God bless!