Church Blog

Response to News Reports

February 6 2013 at 11:39 am 0 Comments

On Monday news reports were widely circulated about a Nevada man, Nathaniel Morales, who has been charged in Maryland with molesting boys during the 1980s. The reports contain allegations that this abuse occurred when Mr. Morales was a teacher, erroneously implying that he was a teacher at Covenant Life School. The reports fail to state that Mr. Morales, though a church member at the time, was never a pastor in Covenant Life Church nor a teacher in Covenant Life School. Rather, Mr. Morales was a teacher employed by an independent private school in Montgomery County not affiliated with Covenant Life Church or School.

Contrary to the impression left by the news reports, Covenant Life Church had no knowledge of such abuse until many years after the abuse when an adult who had been victimized as a child came forward.

The criminal matter described in these news reports is distinct from the civil lawsuit filed last October against Sovereign Grace Ministries, that was amended in January of this year to add Covenant Life Church as a defendant. The church will respond appropriately to the allegations in that pending lawsuit through the legal system.

Our church places a high priority on protecting children, and has had robust child protection practices and policies in place for many years. Our hearts and prayers continue to be with anyone affected by the trauma of sexual abuse. We pray that they will receive the healing, comfort and peace of Christ. And we continue to invite your prayers for all those involved in these matters.





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