Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
Christian Forums is looking to bring on new moderators to the CF Staff Team! If you have been an active member of CF for at least three months with 200 posts during that time, you're eligible to apply! This is a great way to give back to CF and keep the forums running smoothly! If you're interested, you can submit your application here!
it was in the "1970s" it seems specifically 1974 which would put Houston's age at 20. I don't know how Austrian law works but if we are talking about not reporting a crime that happened almost 50 years ago I wonder if a statue of limitations (or Austrian version) can be applied here, not for the sexual abuse done by his father but for the failure to report the crime that the son is accused of.
Goodness that's totally utterly untrue. He was, and had been for over a decade, director/founder of Hillsong. His father confessed to child sexual assault and Brian Houstan chose to conceal that. That's why he is standing trial. Teenage parishioners complained and far from supporting the complainants, he attempted to hide the facts.
The 1970s murder trial has nothing to do with a colluding with child sexual abuse. It will be tried upon its own merits. Your comments about the justice system is absurdly lacking in evidence.
this seems to be the charges. although the abuse by his father happened in the 70s his son's failure to report is based on 1999 when he became aware of the abuse. The father of course has since passed on and now these looming charges are over the son. It seems at the time Houston was the president of the then Assemblies of God in Australia and now known as the Australian Christian Churches and he held this position from 1997-2009. The 1999 evidence seems to have been the father's confession to his son. It's complicated for sure but in the end, Houston was wrong to not report it and he should be transparent about his actions and accept whatever judgment comes upon him where a settlement may appear like a continued cover-up and do more harm to the church.
The main issue, leaving aside Houstan, Hillsong and whether he's innocent or not.... Is that acting to prevent damage and protect the image of an organisation, at the expense of sexually assaulted children, is not only immoral and illegal, it ultimately will damage even further the organisation and the complainants.
Hillsong has been hit by scandals before, however, the difference now is that I think Brian Houston has become that tipping point where damage control can no longer be as effective as it used to be, namely because of the era we are now in and how prominent of a figure Brian Houston is as both the founder of Hillsong and as a high profile leader in Christianity as a whole.
