Members of Sessions' church accuse him of 'child abuse' on family separation

ByDEENA ZARU ABCNews logo
Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Members of Jeff Sessions' own church filed a formal complaint against the attorney general, accusing him of "child abuse," "immorality," and "racial discrimination" and the "dissemination of doctrines contrary to the established standards of doctrines" of the United Methodist Church.

The letter, which was signed by more than 600 members of the United Methodist Church including clergy and church leaders, comes as the White House weathers a chorus of bipartisan condemnation over the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that has led to children getting separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"While other individuals and areas of the federal government are implicated in each of these examples, Mr. Sessions - as a long-term United Methodist in a tremendously powerful, public position - is particularly accountable to us, his church," the letter reads. "He is ours, and we are his. As his denomination, we have an ethical obligation to speak boldly when one of our members is engaged in causing significant harm in matters contrary to the Discipline on the global stage.

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