PHIL JONES: If you think it couldn't happen in your church, ask the congregation at Westminster Presbyterian in Minneapolis. Their senior and associate ministers began a sexual relationship. Both were married.
Or ask members of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, a nondenominational Protestant church in suburban Atlanta. Their pastor is accused of forcing a former parishioner to have sex with him.
Or ask the people of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. Their senior minister became romantically entangled with a parishioner.
KAREN JOHNSON (Parishioner): I couldn't believe it. Then when it began to look like it was true, then I went through betrayal, betrayal. He betrayed me. He betrayed our church.JONES: Sunday attendance declined by a third. Contributions also dropped off. The Reverend Randy Webber was among those left to pick up the pieces.
Reverend RANDY WEBBER (Acting Chief of Staff, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church): It's very hard for people to accept that we may not be perfect and that we can make mistakes.
JONES: What happened here had the drama of a Broadway play. Their charismatic pastor --nationally renowned -- was forced to resign after admitting a relationship with a woman in the congregation. Her husband sued the pastor and the church for $5 million.
Rev. WEBBER: I've described it as feeling a little bit like ending up in a car accident, where all of a sudden you find yourself off the road and in the ditch and wondering a little bit about how you got there.
NANCY BIELE (Congregational Advisor, Minnesota Council of Churches): The Minnesota Council of Churches Committee to End Sexual Misconduct Within the Religious Community was formed ...JONES: For 20 years, congregational advisor Nancy Biele and the Minnesota Council of Churches have worked with victims of sexual exploitation.
Ms. BIELE: This isn't about one denomination, and it isn't about one gender. It is about all pastors being responsible for their own behavior.
JONES: Gary Schoener, a clinical psychologist in Minneapolis, has evaluated more than 2,000 cases of clergy sexual impropriety.
Dr. GARY SCHOENER (Clinical Psychologist): The sexual abuse of children, of course, is getting all of the press. But the bottom line is that far more clergy have sexual contact with adult women or late adolescent girls than they do with kids of either gender. And it's a very widespread problem.
JONES: Sometimes those who get involved claim it was just a matter of two people falling in love. But professional counselors usually see the women as victims.
Dr. SCHOENER: People trust clergy like they trust nobody else. So the trust is there. The opportunity is there. Secondly, clergy get carried away with their own power and their own influence.Ms. BIELE: Some are undergoing some psychological issues of their own -- relationship issues -- and kind of fall into [a relationship with] someone who switches roles and cares for them, which includes sexually. And some are predators.
JONES: Whether these sexual misconduct scandals involve clergy with other clergy or preachers and parishioners, the results are always the same: reputations are tarnished and congregations are left in disarray.
Dr. SCHOENER: Usually, the congregation is badly split. There are people that stick with the pastor. Even if he admits it, they somehow minimize it. There are others who want him out quickly.
SUSAN NIENABER (Consultant, The Alban Institute) (Addressing Conferees): Most of you have lived through the congregational dynamics in the aftermath.JONES: Susan Neinaber is a consultant with the Alban Institute, which counsels congregations. Many of the clergy at this Minneapolis conference have been called in to lead churches in the wake of scandals. They are called "after pastors."
Reverend ANN CRISTIN ALVEMO (After Pastor): People have shared with me the wounds, the hurt, the destruction that it did to our congregation.
Reverend PAUL GILMORE (After Pastor): We lost a whole generation of youth and young people because of this -- and so [we're] trying to get those young folks back in the church and realize that it's a safe, healing place to be.JONES: When scandal erupts, what is a congregation to do?
Bishop PETER ROGNESS (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America): You do public disclosure, because in the midst of the pain there's always -- isn't there a quieter, easier, gentler way to handle this? Well, there isn't. There may well be other victims out there. That's frequently the case. You name it, and you invite them to come forward. Thirdly, it's clearly about the safety and the integrity of the pastoral office and the congregation as a safe place where vulnerable people are not only invited but expected to come to pastors.
JONES: Nearly 10 years after its scandal, Westminster Presbyterian here in Minneapolis is thriving. Its leaders are proud of the church's recovery and wanted to be interviewed for this report. That is, until their former senior pastor, now reinstated and reassigned to a nearby church, vehemently objected. So, out of deference to him and to avoid reopening deep wounds, they chose not to appear on camera.
Rev. LITTLE: A moment of suffering or of brokenness can kill you, or it can be a redemptive moment. It was the latter in this case. The fundamental spine of this congregation is one of loyalty and positive -- wanting good things to happen and not flinching from looking at what had happened.
Ms. NIENABER: People do recover. Offenders recover, victims recover. Not easily, not without tremendous pain and a whole lot of work. But it is possible for situations to recover, and I think that's the important news here.
