An abuser's first assumption is that their victims must forgive them.
Therefore, it's the abuser's first excuse to execute then condone the abuse.
"They have to forgive me, so, because I can't help myself, I'm going to go ahead and do it!"
It's disturbing to observe abusive church leaders preaching to their victims that they should forgive them. Even when they insist they aren't suggesting the restoration of leadership, it is nevertheless implicit in their demand.
If punishment was exacted against abusive church leaders diligently, we might see a dramatic decrease in occurrences.
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