Author and pastor Rick Warren did not hold back his comments on Robert Morris, the lead pastor of Dallas-based megachurch Gateway, who resigned last week after allegations came to light that he had sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
“I’m angry & disgusted to hear of Robert Morris’ sexual abuse of a child & heartbroken for Cindy Clemishire,” Warren on X. “To sexually use a 12 yr old child, then continue it for yrs, is not merely an ‘inappropriate relationship.’ It’s a crime. Sexual child abuse is an evil punishable by law. One can’t just confess when caught & move on with no consequences.
“For the integrity of Christ’s Body, God insists ‘expel the wicked person out of your church!’” Warren continued. “Perpetrators are to be publicly fired, not allowed to resign. Child abuse STILL enrages Jesus… Until the Church realizes the soul-destroying trauma of sexual abuse, the pattern will continue.”
I’m angry & disgusted to hear of Robert Morris’ sexual abuse of a child & heartbroken for Cindy Clemishire. To sexually use a 12 yr old child, then continue it for yrs, is not merely an “inappropriate relationship.” It’s a crime. Sexual child abuse is an evil punishable by law.… pic.twitter.com/1WetIdYyRy
— Rick Warren (@RickWarren) June 21, 2024
Warren’s response comes after the Gateway Board of Elders announced they had accepted Morris’ resignation last week. In their statement, the board expressed regret over the newly revealed details, claiming they were previously unaware of the victim’s age and the extent of the multi-year abuse.
“The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with ‘a young lady’ and not the abuse of a 12-year-old child,” the statement read. “Even though it occurred many years before Gateway was established, as leaders of the church, we regret that we did not have the information that we now have.”
The board also announced they were working with a third-party firm to conduct a thorough investigation into the entirety of the abuse.
