MAP is independent from any church or church agency and funded by donations. We receive support from survivors and members of a range of Anabaptist groups.
We are primarily accountable to survivors, to our nonprofit board, and to those who support us financially. If you have a complaint about MAP that isn’t resolved by speaking with the executive director, you can reach out to a MAP board member. You can also report concerns to outside professionals like Into Account, A Better Way, or an Anabaptist leader. While these outside individuals don’t have direct authority over MAP, they can support you in exploring your options and communicating your concerns, and MAP takes their professional opinions seriously.
MAP receives documentation from many sources, including survivors, advocates, community members, church leaders, and through anonymous packages mailed to our post office box. Religious publications, church records, newspaper accounts, court records, and personal interviews help to further document the facts.
There are and have been other organizations like MAP, focused on specific religious and topical groups:
- Bishop Accountability — Catholic
- My Voice Matters — Dunkard Brethren
- Jewish Community Watch — Jewish
- Protect Jewish Kids — Jewish
- Academic Sexual Misconduct Database — higher education
- Pokrov — Eastern Orthodox
- Facing Abuse in Community Environments — Muslim
- Baptist Accountability — Baptist
- Stop Baptist Predators — Baptist
- Anglican Watch — Episcopal
In addition, some other professions that require licensing also maintain databases of misconduct. For example, the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board maintains a database of disciplinary actions against therapists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors who have been licensed by the State of Kansas. Many other states have similar databases that can be found through an online search. A site run by the Federation of State Medical Boards, DocInfo is a database of medical professionals that includes records of misconduct, such as the history of Carl Robert Showalter, a former doctor and Mennonite from Virginia. The DocInfo website links to original documentation found on state regulatory websites.
"[W]e publish names because it’s what the Mennonite church and its institutions and agencies have repeatedly pledged for decades to do: hold abusers accountable to protect those they have been ordained or commissioned to serve."
"Why we name names," by Barbra Graber, The Mennonite, November 4, 2016
“[W]e should publicize many more indiscretions in the church than we do. I am also convinced that in many cases we should name names. Here are some reasons. …”
“Scandal and the church press” by James R. Coggins, The Mennonite, December 25, 1990 (also published as “Should we report scandal in the Mennonite press?” in Gospel Herald, April 30, 1991)
“An evolution in approach to these stories can be seen. In earlier editions, there is uncertainty, yet tentative conviction about the need to publish these stories, complete with the names of the accused. Later, we see a fervent belief that publication is a necessary part of both understanding who we are as a church community and the healing process.”
“Reporting abuse stories: an evaluation” by Larry Cornies, The Mennonite, April 27, 1993
“[M]y interaction with church leaders points toward the sad reality that such cover ups happen too often. Most of us find it difficult to believe that a respected minister could be guilty of serious sexual offenses against their own children or church members. Consequently, children or adults who share painful stories of abuse by church leaders have too readily been disbelieved, shushed up, pushed aside, or given false promises that something would be done to stop it.”
“Acknowledging Difficult Stories of Sexual Abuse from the Past” by Ervin Stutzman, Mennonite Church USA, August 12, 2013
“We resolve to tell the truth about sexual abuse; hold abusers accountable; acknowledge the seriousness of their sin; listen with care to those who have been wounded; protect vulnerable persons from injury; work restoratively for justice; and hold out hope that wounds will be healed, forgiveness offered, and relationships established or reestablished in healthy ways.”
“Churchwide Statement on Sexual Abuse” Passed by the Mennonite Church USA Delegate Assembly at Kansas City, Missouri, July 3, 2015
“[S]exualized violence (abuse, rape, molestation, harassment) affects people within our churches and institutions and our families at the same rate as society at large. And we have a history of ignoring it, not paying attention and even dismissing it. … Sexualized violence is cancer within the church that we need to expose. In order to become whole, we must bring to light all that has been too long hidden in the shadows.”
“Statement from the Panel on Sexual Abuse Prevention” Mennonite Church USA, March 30, 2016
Many old church publications and directories are now available as digital Mennonite periodicals. Archives of other publications, such the Messenger of Truth of the Church of God in Christ Mennonite, and the Mennonite Church Directory of Christian Light Publications, are available on CD or by subscription.
Newspaper articles can be found on individual news websites, in online newspaper archives, at local libraries, etc.
Many court records are now partially or fully available online for states such as Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and more. Other states, like Ohio and Michigan, only provide access to court records at the county level, e.g. Holmes County, Tuscarawas County, and Geauga County in Ohio and St. Joseph County in Michigan. Other states and counties require searching in the courthouse or filing a records request. It’s important to know the county or city and the level of court where the case was processed.
Arrest and jail records are usually available from the relevant police or sheriff’s department. Sometimes these are available online, and other times you have to request copies. To understand what you can request from government-related entities and how to request it, search for “open records” policies for the agency in question. Public entities are generally required to promptly respond to your request or to tell you why they can’t. Some record requests require specific forms, search fees, verification of identity, etc.
You can copy, photograph, or record audio or video of church statements, written or public confessions, meetings, meeting notes, phone calls, etc. Please be aware of state and local laws regarding permission requirements and the use of these kinds of materials in court.
We focus on stories of sexual violence in Anabaptist contexts that include a range of Mennonite, Amish, and Brethren groups. These historic peace churches have long emphasized nonviolence and revered those who chose death and prison rather than harm another. A 1992 survey of Anabaptist abuse stories noted “the crushing irony that sexual misconduct, incest, rape and family violence can occur with such frequency in a community that has said for centuries that it does not bear arms or do violence.”
We prioritize cases of sexual misconduct by church leaders, but we also look at other cases that illuminate problematic patterns and systems. We prioritize stories brought to us by survivors, and we try to seek input from victims and others directly affected. We also publish other stories that we deem to be in the interest of public health and safety.
We publish cases featuring credible allegations of abuse and misconduct, prioritizing stories with criminal charges or convictions, church discipline, professional sanctions, media coverage, civil suits, and those deemed critical to public health and safety. We intentionally center the experiences and best interests of survivors and the most vulnerable. With that in mind we use a broad interpretation of what is deemed credible, starting from a position of believing survivors and always focusing on what is most likely to be true.
Credibility is not a fixed concept, but it is related to the legal idea of burden of proof. This can be different for criminal cases, civil cases, church processes, media stories, etc. In the United States, the different legal standards for burden of proof include:
- Some evidence
- Reasonable indications
- Reasonable suspicion
- Reasonable to believe
- Probable cause
- Some credible evidence
- Preponderance of the evidence
- Clear and convincing evidence
- Beyond reasonable doubt
In general, the greater the potential consequences or restrictions on an individual, the greater the burden of proof that the allegations are credible. In order to take away someone’s freedom and put them in prison, the prosecutor must prove the charges “beyond a reasonable doubt.” But in order to take away a prisoner's good conduct time for a disciplinary violation, prison officials need only have "some evidence."
The ministerial sexual misconduct policy for Mennonite Church USA adopted in 2016 instructs investigators to determine whether “the minister, more likely than not, engaged in misconduct or ministerial sexual misconduct.” This is essentially the same as determining the “preponderance of the evidence,” the standard required in civil cases in the United States.
A civil trial can generally only impose financial penalties, not take away a person’s freedom by putting them in jail, and subsequently the burden of proof is lower. In the same way, a church misconduct process can generally only sanction a professional ministerial credential (which may then result in a loss of employment), and so a similar burden of proof is used.
MAP considers all of these factors in deciding what to publish.
