General Superintendent, Assemblies of God in New Zealand | ||
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Dear Mr HughesRE: FRANK HOUSTON -- SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONSI'm sure that you are aware of my previous communications with your Executive through my lawyer and my recent letter to Neil Hetrick, which I copied to you. I was hoping that by approaching Neil directly, I might achieve a response that contained some degree of support and a willingness to open a dialogue with me. However, his reply was so disappointing. It is devoid of any Christian charity or even any basic human sympathy. Any secular solicitor, rather than a minister of God, could have written it and probably did. However, that is the kind of response that I am learning to expect from your Organization.I'm not sure what you are afraid of or why you won't talk to me about what happened when I was a teenager and a member of the Lower Hutt Assembly of God*2. I find it staggering that you do not want to uncover the truth about one of your predecessors in the role of General Superintendent, especially since you have already banned him from the ministry for "'serious moral failure"'. However, that is your decision. I just want you to be aware that I do not intend to continue living with the legacy of pain and anger that Houston's abuse has caused in my life. I will not be discouraged by your refusal to talk with me, or your attempts to discredit my allegations. I will continue to pursue this matter until I achieve some sense of justice and closure. As I explained in my letter to Neil,*1 I have conducted my own investigation into Houston and his past behaviour and I have been greatly assisted by many church leaders past and present, throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK. This investigation confirmed Houston's sad legacy of sexual abuse and the consistent attempts that have been made by church organizations to cover-up his behaviour. However, perhaps you already have enough evidence of this and you are not interested in any further information that may reveal past errors of judgment. For the past nine months I have attempted to deal with this confidentially. However the Assemblies of God in New Zealand refuse to meet with me or to provide an adequate or even decent response to my allegations. I am therefore left with no option but to seek public support. It is now my hope that public exposure will help to create a supportive environment in which other victims may feel able to join me in the search for justice. Perhaps only then, all of us, including Houston, can begin the long process of healing lives damaged by sexual abuse and the terrible breach of trust placed in a church leader and minister of God. Yours sincerely Peter Fowler P.O. Box 1448, Potts Point, NSW 1335, AUSTRALIA 9th December 2002 Tel: +61 419 774 800 | ||
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