Neil Schori, the pastor who claims that Stacy Peterson confided in him in August that her husband, Drew Peterson, murdered his previous wife, referred to Drew’s suggestion that he’d had an inappropriate personal relationship with Stacy as “absolutely slanderous.”
Meanwhile, at least one seminary — Lincoln Christian College and Seminary in Lincoln, Illinois — is using Schori’s actions as a specific object lesson in how clergymen should not behave: holding meetings with parishoners in coffee shops, and revealing their discussions to a national television audience.
I think that him meeting her in a coffee shop is much better than a “private meeting” in his office.
The official reasoning is, since she met with him to confide personal matters, the meeting should not have taken place where they could be overheard.
No offense to the “official reasoning” but maybe a young attractive pastor shouldn’t be the person to meet with the young attractive female church member or the pastor’s wife or female staff member could have attended the meeting as well. Pastor’s now days cannot give any foot hold to impropriety…
I think you’re both off. The reason for having opposite sex counseling meetings in a public setting is exactly to shun any possible perception of impropriety. Furthermore, according to case law, sharing information confidentially shared that are pertinent to a current investigation must be shared, superseding confidentiality rules. Whether they were shared with police or news media makes no difference technically as they would make it to the media eventually anyway. Lincoln Seminary does not know Pastor Schori and thus should not intrude on his reputation by making a negative example of him. It’s just plain ignorant.