We must protect youth

We always find it troubling when someone in a position of authority uses that position to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a subordinate. But we find it particularly disturbing when the one accused is a youth volunteer at a local church.

Now we don't want to imply any guilt on the part of this individual. That's for the courts to decide. But we feel it was prudent for the church to remove the individual from ministry while the case goes forward.

The individual, who was 18 at the time of the alleged incidents last year, is charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 14-year-old boy during a church event last August. The accused was a youth volunteer, rather that church staff.

If the allegations are true, the conduct is indeed reprehensible. Young people come to church expecting to find a safe haven from the pressures of society; exploiting youth in such a situation could damage fragile psyches at a critical time in their development.

This begs the question what churches and other organizations where large numbers of children and youth congregate are to do with regard to screening volunteers. Most churches would be hard-pressed to conduct background searches on every volunteer, but by the same token their ministries would likely be much less without the help of volunteers.

We would urge churches to examine their policies on volunteers to determine what safeguards can be put in place to protect children and youth. No single answer will fit every situation, but a common sense approach could go a long way to safeguard our young people.