| RICHMOND, July 2 - The 216th General Assembly approved 10 of a series of 11 proposed changes to the Book of Order Friday evening.
The proposed amendments have to do with the disciplinary processes of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and were recommended by the Independent Committee of Inquiry (ICI) that investigated sexual abuse at a primary school in the Congo over a period of more than 20 years. Two of the four perpetrators were Presbyterian missionaries.
The purpose of the ICI, and of the amendments, is "to promote healing for victims, for their loved ones, for the missionary community, and for the church as a whole," in the words of the ICI report.
The only proposed change that the Assembly disapproved would have removed the word "honorably" from "honorably retired" in reference to clergy convicted of sexual abuse. The Assembly added a long comment to one item, an apology for the church's failings in its handling of the abuse cases. |
