Bishop Simeon Hall contended that disgraced Bishop Earl Randolph Fraser should seek clinical help if he intends to return to the pulpit.
“I believe that before he returns to the pulpit he should get some professional clinical help,” Hall said.
“It’s the least he could do. When you and I seek forgiveness for sins we have committed, we must admit that we have sinned and that’s what is absent from this whole saga. There has been no admission of guilt, thus it is difficult for us to see justification for this man going back to the pulpit.”
On Wednesday night, an overwhelming majority of members of Pilgrim Full Baptist Temple voted to keep Bishop Fraser as head of their church even though he is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for having sex with a dependent.
Hall said while it’s important to forgive, Fraser should take a break before his return.
“I believe that if the church wants to forgive him, they should, and obviously the majority of members want to forgive him, but there should be some time out other than being in jail where he goes and seeks professional help because it is a serious charge,” Hall said.
The Court of Appeal last year condemned Fraser as a “sexual predator” who “disgustingly defiled the sanctum of his church” when it upheld his conviction for having sex with a teenage church member who had come to him for counseling.
“The unassailable facts reveal the appellant as a sexual predator under the guise of a man of the cloth and counselor, who abandoned all of his obligations and responsibilities, particularly his commitment to uphold the teachings of the Christ Himself who commanded, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’,” the court said.
“In doing so, the appellant obnoxiously betrayed this young, vulnerable and emotionally fragile complaintant who was entrusted to his care for emotional and spiritual healing; disgustingly defiled the sanctum of his church; besmirched the good name of men and women of the cloth who daily perform their Christian duties with diligence and integrity; and has brought shame and odium to his church, his wife, his children and indeed, his community.”
Despite his imprisonment, Fraser is still officially head of the church on St. James Road, which reportedly has more than 400 members.
During his trial, evidence revealed that Fraser began the illicit affair with the 16-year-old girl shortly after their counseling sessions began in July 2005.
The girl said she and Fraser had sex on Mondays and Wednesdays on the floor of his office before services, and occasionally at his home when his wife was not there.
Police found Fraser’s semen on carpet swaths collected from the church office.
By Krystel Rolle
Guardian Staff Reporter