Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, which attracts an estimated 100,000 worshipers weekly, has confessed to “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” more than 35 years ago while he was a young pastor after a woman accused him of sexually abusing her over multiple years beginning when she was 12.

    • Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 months ago

      The title itself is trying to minimize it so hard. It isn’t a moral failure, it’s a pedophile.

      • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 months ago

        To me it seems like the point of the title is how insane it is and how guilty it makes him look that this was his response

        • Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 months ago

          That’s fair enough. I’m just so jaded by most media that intentionally do this sort of stuff that it’s hard to see it otherwise.

    • asteriskeverything@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      The woman herself speaks against this and against everything he said. The majority of the article is her story and I encourage others to read past the PR paragraphs at the start!

      • athairmor@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        I’m sure there are flirtatious 12 year olds, actually. You know what an adult should never do in response to a 12 year old’s flirting? What this guy did or anything at all.

        Of course, I don’t believe for a second that she flirted with him. It’s classic victim blaming and any jury hearing it should assume he’s guilty.

        • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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          5 months ago

          This is actually a very big point of the novel Lolita.

          People who think it’s a pro-pedophilia work are telling on themselves. The novel explores the mindset of a predator more than anything else, a child being childish is “flirting” to them, not just a kid doing innocent things they, at best, don’t understand. They say these abhorrent things because they, in fact, believe it themselves, must believe it themselves.

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    The survivor made it clear to CP that Morris did not get her father’s blessing to return to ministry.

    “My father never ever gave his blessing on Robert returning to ministry! My father told him he’s lucky he didn’t kill him. I am mortified that he is telling the world my dad gave his blessing! Of course, we forgive because we are called to biblically forgive those who sin against us. But that does not mean he is supposed to go on without repercussions,” she said.

    Clemishire explained that she retained an attorney in 2005 to file a civil lawsuit but Morris’ attorney suggested she caused the abuse on herself because she was “flirtatious.” She said she asked for $50,000 to cover the cost of her counseling stemming from the abuse. She said they offered her $25,000 if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, but she refused.

    Just real piece of shit. This man was married with a small boy when he was invited to stay at the home of a family man who was helping him build the church. He raped their daughter while telling his wife and the nice family he was “counseling” her privately. May he rot in prison.

  • Greyghoster@aussie.zone
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    5 months ago

    This sort of thing is rife among to televangelists and weirdly doesn’t seem to affect the number of people who worship and support them. It’s like they are a god and can do no wrong.

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    5 months ago

    Drag queen story time is child abuse, stop the drag queens!

    I’m sure this poor man was also seduced by that devilish child who learned it from drag queens!

    Nothing to see here

  • Etterra@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    It stopped being a moral failing when you went from horrible thoughts to horrible actions. And then kept doing them. And even if it was just thoughts that’s a mental illness that there’s no cure for other than just “don’t act on it, jackass.”