Top Tweets for #abuseCoverUp

On 7/17/17, Police responded to a sυicide at a residence in Coeur d’Alene just 5 minutes away from Candlelight Fellowship Church. The man they found in the garage was 33-year-old Prentice Clark. Prentice had worked as a youth pastor at Candlelight under Paul Van Noy from around 2012 to 2017. He moved to Coeur d’Alene to take the position. The reason Prentice left or was let go from his role at the church isn’t entirely known. An attached section of a police report clarifies that before his death he had recently gone through a divorce. The police report also confirms what we heard from several sources—that Prentice worked with juveniles and that the discovery of his relationship with a young girl was the reason for the divorce. I know personally from conversations with Paul that he knew of this discovery and divorce, but no report by Paul of the incident with Prentice with a minor was made. This is yet another instance of a man in leadership at Candlelight, hired by Paul, engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a young girl. This continues to follow a pattern. Paul’s stance from his public statement is that they have everything under control and the church is safe. So why, after several allegations have these issues not been addressed and continue to be glossed over. Why would Paul publicly refute his own documented words in text and recorded audio while remaining silent on the abuses he knows occurred under his leadership? A clip of Prentice’s father-in-law asking those at Prentice's memorial, hosted at Candlelight, to join him in “being careful what we say,” and “to remember him at his best.” It is worth noting, no one from Prentice’s side of the family spoke at his memorial. While grieving families and communities naturally seek comfort in a person's good deeds, Christian institutions have an ethical duty to confront documented patterns of abuse. Eulogizing the good deeds does not erase and must never excuse a failure of accountability. It must be addressed why these events happen and what is being done to stop them. A pastor's primary stance should be taking the leadership position of accountability for the sake of the victims and for the integrity of the institution. Paul and Candlelight continue the posture of cover-up and moving right along. https://t.co/5i2FKtzUtN