Lifetime Sex Offender Ordained as Minister in Louisville, Kentucky

In 1998, Mark Hourigan was charged with sodomy, sexual abuse and intimidation of an 11 year old boy and served nearly 5 years in prison for his crimes. Yesterday, nearly eleven years later, Mark Hourigan was ordained a minister by The City of Refuge Worship Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The City of Refuge Worship Center is located in Germantown, an area of Louisville. Hourigan's ordination on September 13 was met with a public outcry of protest and has made national headlines.

Mark Hourigan's Background

Hourigan worked as a youth leader at Beechfork Baptist Church in Gravel Switch, Kentucky. From there he volunteered to be a youth leader at a church in Marion County when he decided to confess his past according to his ex-wife. That confession put Hourigan in prison so he never became a youth leader in Marion County. Hourigan is now on the lifetime sex offender registry.

Hourigan leads praise and worship at The City of Refuge and was ordained with another person yesterday. As a result some of the congregants have left the church and a handful of protestors with signs showed up outside the Center.

According to Hourigan's ex-wife who sent an email to a local reporter in Louisville, Hourigan is "a sick person". (To read Hourigan's ex-wife's full comments, go to www.topix.com/forum/louisville/TRCQ1IPUNCH51PVIT.)

About The City of Refuge Worship Center

The City of Refuge Worship Center has about 35 members (including 10 children) and is known as a "GLBT affirming church" which means it accepts "everyone regardless of race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, and/or social-economic status". Pastor Randy Meadows has told an ABC affiliate that "the Lord touched Hourigan's heart", and has assured the public that the church will not "put children in harm's way" of Hourigan. In fact, Hourigan cannot have unsupervised visits with any children.

Reaction of Public

There has been a huge outpouring of public comments made in the forms of calls and emails regarding Hourigan's ordination. Some people, including those affiliated with the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), have strongly opposed the ordination and have concerns that Hourigan will now be in a position of power. To that end, they say, sexual abuse is itself all about power plays.

Although Kentucky has no law which prevents sex offenders from being ordained, a person with said background must still meet the criteria and requirements of the Church that authorizes the ordination.

The general tone of the public's comments is that the act of ordaining a sex offender is wrong. There are a few comments showing support for Hourigan; rather, most people state that pedophiles have little chance of total rehabilitation and the likelihood of recidivism for molesters is exceedingly high.

Sources: www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/whas11-topstories-090910-sex-offender-SNAP.1691fc95f.html