A court has delivered its ruling in the Jonathan Fletcher abuse case.
The findings against him are grievous. They are painful to read. They are painful to write about. Yet truth matters. Justice matters. The protection of the vulnerable matters.
A court has now found the allegations against Fletcher proved at an examination of the facts hearing, after he had earlier been ruled unfit to plead due to his dementia.
Reports state the court accepted evidence that men under his spiritual influence were subjected to abusive treatment over many years.
This included naked beatings, coercive discipline, and degrading conduct presented as pastoral care or character formation. I’ll spare you the grim details. The offences were said to span decades and involved those who trusted him as a minister and mentor.
Many readers will know the wider background. Fletcher was once a prominent figure in conservative evangelical Anglicanism. He served for many years at Emmanuel Wimbledon. He influenced numerous younger ministers. He was widely respected in some circles.
That history makes this case even more sobering. ‘Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall’ (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Continue @ ET.
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