Texas megachurch pastor Robert Morris, whoĀ Donald Trump once named as a spiritual adviser to his administration, announced he was stepping down from Gateway Church amid allegations he molested a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.
The resignation comes days after Morris, 62, seemingly admitted to molesting the girl in a statement toĀ The Christian Post.Ā In that statement, he conceded that he engaged in āinappropriate sexual behaviorā with a āyoung ladyā when he was already married with a child in his early 20s.
Morris didnāt mention the girlās ageābut his alleged victim, Cindy Clemishire, told the religious watchdog blogĀ The Wartburg Watch on Friday that she was only 12 when she was first sexually abused by Morris on Christmas Day in 1982. She claimed that he invited her into the room he was staying in at her family home during a visit, and touched her inappropriately on her breasts and āunder her panties.ā
If I was writing the article I would have pointed out the admission, rather than pointing towards the allegation. Which is based on his admission.
If you were writing the article you probably wouldnāt get to pick your headline. Headline writing is not an art, itās a boring science of putting it in the most regular and concise of terms.
He resigned amid allegations of abuse. Those are the cold hard facts. If it turns out that the Christian Monitor how misquoted him or coerced him etc then this outlet might also be liable for claiming something not quite 100% defensible in a court of law.
And I think it just means that if you are rich enough to sue a newspaper, then theyāll never claim you are anything other than an upstanding citizen.
That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying the liability issue.