DEKALB CHURCH BLESSES COVER-UP
Atlanta Journal/Constitution 11/14/92
A sex scandal, now encompassing 4 ministers from one family, has been uncovered at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in DeKalb, Georgia, praised by former President Bush as one of his "1,000 Points of Light". The $12 million racially diverse 7,700-seat church with a TV program, social services, lost half of its 12,000 members following
revelations that its minister, Bishop Earl Paulk, had an adulterous affair. Other church employees or members have stepped forward to say they had affairs with the bishop's brother, Rev. Don Paulk, & his nephews Rev. Duane Swilley & Rev. Alan
Mushegan. Women charge the ministers coerced them into having sex in order to "serve God." The church filed, then dropped a slander/libel suit against several former members & staffers, resulting in a gag order by a DeKalb judge forbidding them to
discuss their allegations of sexual misconduct. It promotes a doctrine of "covering", blessing cover-ups of sexual misconduct & requiring submission to authority. Don Paulk accuses former church schoolteacher Rebecca Moses of seducing him, saying "I
know now what it was like for Samson to place his head in the lap of Delilah." Six victims have not filed suit, but are asking for legislation making it a felony in Georgia for clergy to have sex with members of their congregations.
Sources: AP/_Atlanta Journal/Constitution_ 11/14/92; _USA Today_ 12/18/92; _Boston Globe_ 1/9/93.