Ultimately, the problems of the Board are the problems of the members of the member congregations, just as the problems of Congress are the problems of the voters. There have been problems with the handling of clergy malpractice for far more than 10 years. Why have *we* not fixed it? Yes, the behavior of groups is often worse than the behavior of the individuals composing them, but perhaps that is why we have not risen up to fix whatever problems there are – we all expect someone else to do it, thinking someone else had the authority and the responsibility.

A Classics professor teaching on the bible asked why Jews didn’t eat pork and after answers about trichinosis and even heart health he said “No. They don’t because God told them not to, if he had said ‘Drink milk shakes.’ they would drink milk shakes.” Changes ones focus doesn’t it.

Well, since you asked that final question Matt. . . my own personal mistrust of The Board of The Tiny Declining Fringe Religion™, the last three UUA Presidents, the UUA more generally, “Boston” aka 25 Beacon Street, two or three of my local U*U Ministers and indeed a number of other “less than perfect” U*U Ministers for that matter. . is in fact very much grounded in the well documented shameful reality of how they have behaved towards me and/or other people. My own mistrust is by no means grounded only in hypothesis, but has been earned by numerous untrustworthy U*Us who went out of their way to betray my trust in one way or another. Who is to say that those other Unitarian Universalists who mistrust UU clergy and/or UUA leaders have not had their trust aka *faith* betrayed in various ways?

I am not privy to what is being said on the GA Listserv, having been permanently banned from UUA listserves for sharing my concerns about intolerant and abusive UU clergy and their UUA enablers, not to mention disturbing allegations that the German Unitarian community was subverted by Nazi ideologues in the wake of WWII and their influence held sway into the 1980s if not 1990s and later. . . but I can say with some authority that the UUA Board of Trustees is far from trustworthy when it comes to certain matters, ditto for UUA Presidents and UUA staff.

AFA*I*AC, and I am not alone in this assessment by any means, the UUA Board of Trustees has earned the mistrust of clergy misconduct victims and advocates. But don’t take my word for it take the word of UU clergy sexual misconduct victim UUgrrl as posted to her ‘The MFC Policies: A Failure of Justice‘ post on her recently resurrected ‘Speaking Truth To Power’ blog hosted on the UU Safety Net website.

“Given how disrespectful, unsafe and complicated the (UUA clergy misconduct) policies remain, it’s clear the MFC has either failed to consult with former complainants or has completely disregarded their feedback.

Moreover, the Board is complicit. Ultimately the policies of the UUA are the Board’s responsibility. And they too have had over 10 years to fix these problems.

Thus both the MFC and the Board have failed victims of UU clergy sexual misconduct. In so doing they have failed to ensure safety in congregations. In other words, the senior leaders of the UUA have failed all Unitarian Universalists throughout our country.

In failing to provide a fair system to adjudicate cases of UU clergy sexual misconduct, they have not only failed complainants, they have failed to live up to UU principles. There is not one scrap of justice, equity or compassion for victims in the MFC policies.”

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I regrettably have to concur with UUgrrl’s “mistrust” of the UUA Board Of Trustees.