'The Church is broken'

The Christian Brethren Assemblies Jamaica (CBAJ) issued a statement yesterday expressing "immense sorrow that a senior member of the body of Christ has been implicated in an alleged sexual assault of a minor".

The group acknowledged that the incident has caused many citizens to experience hurt, distrust, and betrayal by the Church community. However, the CBAJ said, "We gently remind the nation that the supposed actions of a few do not represent the body as a whole but highlight the fact that the Church is broken because humans are broken." The group said that the Church was, and would remain, a place of healing, hope, refuge, and encouragement.

"Jesus Christ stood against injustice and immorality while on Earth and defended the cause of those susceptible to unfair treatment.

"The Christian Brethren Assemblies Jamaica follows our Lord's model and stands against child abuse, all types of sexual violence, and injustices everywhere. We pray that the affected families will find hope and healing in Jesus Christ during this time and offer our moral support not only to them, but to other victims of sexual violence who may be finding it difficult to read about this latest incident and may, possibly, be reliving their own horrendous experience," it said further.

The CBAJ encouraged all persons who know of or suspect incidents of child abuse to make a report to the relevant authorities.