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ACCRA, Ghana — The church is not a safe place for women because of continued sexual abuse by clergy, a gathering of Protestant women at the 24th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) has cautioned.
This was a “particularly painful” observation, said about 300 women from Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational and United churches from around the world, attending a WARC women’s pre‑council meeting on July 27‑28, in a statement released on July 31.
“A threat to the fullness of life is patriarchal power that is another means of domination and exploitation,” said the women, referring to the council theme “That all may have life in fullness” (John 10:10), in their statement distributed to the 400 member church delegates and 600 other participants attending the General Council in the Ghanaian capital.
“The concern over violence against women as a threat to life came repeatedly to our consciousness. What remains particularly painful is that the church is not a safe place for women — stories of clergy sexual abuse continue to go unchallenged,” they said.
They called on churches to recognize the right of women to “healthy and affirmative relationships” both within the family and the wider community and noted that that the church was still unable to address the root causes of HIV/AIDS, especially its links to poverty, unequal power relations between men and women, and issues of human sexuality.
The Bible was important for churches rooted in the Reformation, they noted. “We call on the churches gathered at the WARC council to accompany the women in their efforts to re‑read the Bible with new eyes and to engender theological education so that the barriers that stand in the way of gender justice in our churches can be broken down,” the statement said.
There were still churches that denied women their call to the ordained ministry.
The general council was also called to condemn how rape and sexual violence against women and children are being used systematically as a weapon of war and for ethnic cleansing. Referring to the theme of speaking with unity for justice in the economy and the earth, the statement said poverty affected women and men differently.
“Women’s roles and responsibilities include multiple roles of childcare and care for extended family members (especially in this time of HIV/AIDS), managing their homes and fending for the survival of their families,” it pointed out.
WARC links more than 75 million Christians around the world.
Stories from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches about the 24th General Council may be found on the WARC Web site.
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