A bombshell 400-page report revealed that leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), America’s largest Protestant denomination, stonewalled and denigrated survivors of clergy sex abuse for almost two decades. They did this to protect their own reputations and lead to SBC paying money if abuse victims later sued, the investigative report issued Sunday said.

These survivors, and other concerned Southern Baptists, repeatedly shared allegations with the SBC’s Executive Committee, “only to be met, time and time again, with resistance, stonewalling, and even outright hostility from some within the EC,” said the report.

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The revelation came following a seven-month investigation conducted by Guidepost Solutions, an independent firm contracted by the Executive Committee, which was led by 30 employees and an 86-member board of elected officials.

“Our investigation revealed that, for many years, a few senior EC leaders, along with outside counsel, largely controlled the EC’s response to these reports of abuse … and were singularly focused on avoiding liability for the SBC,” the report said.

“In service of this goal, survivors and others who reported abuse were ignored, disbelieved, or met with the constant refrain that the SBC could take no action due to its polity regarding church autonomy – even if it meant that convicted molesters continued in ministry with no notice or warning to their current church or congregation,” the report added.

SBC President Ed Litton, in a statement Sunday, said he is “grieved to my core” for the victims.

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“I pray Southern Baptists will begin preparing today to take deliberate action to address these failures and chart a new course when we meet together in Anaheim,” Litton said, according to the Washington Post.

The report publicly details, for the first time, a credible allegation of sexual assault against former SBC President Johnny Hunt a month after his term ended in 2010.

Survivors and experts believe that the investigation could be a blueprint for other, similarly structured secular organizations or religious denominations.

“This really is a groundbreaking process for the Convention, and for religious institutions as a whole,” Rachael Denhollander, a prominent lawyer and abuse survivor who advises the SBC on abuse policies said. “It’s critically important because it’s a response to survivors who have been advocating for change and help, literally for decades.”

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In the report, Guidepost makes 17 recommendations, including asking the SBC to establish an offender database, formally apologize to survivors and clarify standards for churches and clergy.