Toro rape victim has confrontation with UCC church in Florida
Monday, July 21, 2008
Angel Toro may have confessed to raping a boy 20 years ago, but the saga has not ended. On Sunday, the victim confronted Chapel on the Hill United Church of Christ in Seminole, FL that Toro last ministered and handed out flyers so the church could identify other potential victims (Toro's confession was related to a Methodist church in Wisconsin, not the church in Florida). As you can see from the video above, the confrontation didn't go well and the police had to be called.
This is a very sad story all the way around. The church should (if it hasn't already) take the necessary steps to make sure there are no victims at the congregation. Acting Sr. Pastor Martin Lewis' comment that "whatever happened in the past, we have no responsibility for" is accurate, but he does have an obligation to make sure that no one was harmed by Toro within the church. As far as the victim goes, he is obviously still dealing with what happened to him and should receive whatever pastoral help our church or any other church can offer. However, ambushing the church (apparently during a service) may not have been the most effective way to deal with this issue. In my opinion, it would have been much more effective to meet with church leaders to discuss his concerns for their congregation.
They all need our prayers.