Covenant of the Rainbow: Statement on the Sexual Abuse Scandal of Former Pastor of Blessed Ministry Community Church
On April 2, 2024, "Yahoo News" reported that there were three independent complaints from victims alleging that Rev. Pang Wai-Yap made them sit on their thighs, touched their private parts, or even had sexual intercourse without their consent during his tenure at the Blessed Ministry Community Church (BMCC) in Hong Kong or the Good Samaritan Kuala Lumpur (GSKL) Church in Malaysia. It is really shocking and very sad, as well as a church MeToo incident. It was also reported that Blessed Ministry Community Church terminated Pang’s contract in December last year after it was revealed that in a church decision-making process, Pang failed to disclose important information about his close relationship or interaction with a church member.
While these incidents have been publicly reported and await investigation, due to the seriousness of the incidents and the high public concern, Covenant of the Rainbow (“the Covenant”), as an alliance of Christian groups that supports diversity/gender equality and justice, would like to make a statement in response:
- LGBTIQ+ believers have long been isolated
We should understand that LGBTIQ+ Christians face greater pressure when faced with sexual assault than heterosexual victims of sexual assault, such as the shame and self-blame brought on by their queer identity, plus the fact that churches often characterise sexual minorities as "sinners", they are easily stigmatized and isolated by mainstream society. Those LGBTIQ+ believers who believed they could gather in a queer church that recognized and accepted themselves, but experienced sexual assault by a pastor they trusted, are in complete helplessness. What a hopeless situation this must be! This is an act of witness of the victims that alerts and educates the public and churches (including all the Chinese LGBTIQ+ churches) when they, with the protection and encouragement of the Lord and the support of each other, bravely breaks their silence and make these experiences public. The Covenant would like to express our sincere gratitude and support to these victims! Disclosing traumatic events is difficult and fraught with inner struggle, and the church community needs to give it space, respect privacy, and provide appropriate support.
- Patriarchy is prevalent in the church community
The problem with sexual assault is power, not sex itself. The patriarchal system and worship of pastors in churches (including LGBTIQ+ churches) also indirectly create a hotbed for sexual assault culture. The patriarchal system does not only refer to individual men or collective men, but to a society and a social system that orients the entire society to a male-dominant power structure (hierarchical power structure), allowing men to have authoritative positions, dominate, and creating a power difference between men and women. This ideology of dominance and privilege extends to the entire society, creating a pyramid-like power distribution and relationship. Similarly, the patriarchal system has also deeply influenced churches. Feminist theologian Rosemary R. Ruether believes that the patriarchal church forms a particular image of God: an absolutely divine, supreme, lonely, male ruler or god of war. Power corrupts people, and absolute power absolutely corrupts people. The Christian Church has a long history of allowing clergy to enjoy great authority. Faced with the dominance of patriarchal culture, the Church needs to face up to it. It’s no time for second thoughts or ignorance!
- There should be zero tolerance for any sexual harassment or assault
According to reports, Pang believes that he has been creating an open atmosphere to openly discuss various topics in the church, to bring open theological thinking, that while some people accept it, others feel puzzled and hurt, and even hurt Pang in return. He stressed that there are boundaries between churchgoers and "my line may be drawn lower than in traditional churches." The Covenant believes that this quote confuses the public and leads people to misunderstand that a theological statement that is affirmative and open to diverse sexual identities and sexualities has no moral bottom line and allows any sexual activities in the church, including sexual harassment and other sexual assaults. The Covenant reiterates that we should have an open discussion attitude towards sex and affirm the freedom and equal rights of diverse sexual expressions outside the heterosexual marriage system of “one man and one woman”, such as polysexual relationships and the equality of sex workers and their rights, but these must be based on mutual respect and mutual consent. Therefore, The Covenant adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards any sexual harassment or assault. The ultimate concern of diversity is to maintain bodily autonomy and erotic self-determination, which is an indispensable part of human dignity. Only with mutual respect and consent can the bodily autonomy and erotic self-determination of every person’s right be protected.
- We should not tolerate the oppression of the weak by the powerful for the fear of damaging church reputation
Therefore, there is a possibility of sexual assault, no matter whether the sexual assaulter is straight or gay, or whether the incident occurs in a traditional straight church or a queer church. Jessica Tso Hiu-Tung of the Hong Kong Christian Council, who has been promoting the prevention and control of sexual harassment in churches since 2013, gave a detailed analysis of this in an interview for this incident. Tso said, out of the intention to protect church reputation, coupled with fear and ignorance about sex, churches often take no action against the offenders and use different methods to silence the victims. The Covenant believes that churches should be humble and stand up to their principles, that we should have confidence in our faith and the courage to confess and repent, and that we should not tolerate the oppression of the weak by the powerful out of fear of damaging church reputation. We call on church to formulate and implement sexual harassment policies, raise the awareness of sexual harassment and assault among church members, pastors and governing members, and provide a safe environment and effective channels for them to lodge complaints.
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will surely do this.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
Rev. Grace Bok
Convenor
The Covenant of the Rainbow
Website:http://www.rainbowcovenant.com.hk