India is in dire need of its own #ChurchToo and #MeToo movements, a well-respected pastor and human rights leader is urging as recent reports of clergy-related sexual abuse have rocked churches in the Kerala state in the past month.
Bishop Joseph D’Souza, president of the All India Christian Council, traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to attend a religious freedom roundtable hosted by Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback.
But since D’Souza’s trip comes as much media attention has surrounded two different cases of alleged sexual abuse by Indian clergy members from different denominational backgrounds, he spoke with The Christian Post Monday about how Indian Christians and churches should respond.
“It would be great to have the #ChurchToo movement in India because India probably needs it more than the West because the #MeToo movement in India is far more needed on several fronts,” he said, adding that India’s chauvinistic society has bred much male aggression against women and girls even inside the church.
As many women in the United States have come forward this year with allegations of being abused or molested at the hands of clergy members through the #ChurchToo movement, a similar trend has been happening in the south Asian state.
Last month, allegations emerged that a handful of priests with the Indian Orthodox Church in Kerala sexually abused a woman by using her confessions as blackmail to force her to have romantic encounters. The allegations led to the suspension of five priests, four of whom have been charged with…
… Read More
—-
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Urban Christian News