Ex-Homosexual Ministry Leader: 'My Heart Breaks for Mark Foley'
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
October 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A former homosexual who now runs a Christian outreach to those who want to leave the homosexual lifestyle, says he is not surprised at the scandal surrounding former Florida Congressman Mark Foley. According to the ministry founder, what the disgraced political figure needs to do now is to admit he has a problem and take full responsibility for his actions.
Foley, former co-chair of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, resigned September 29, after allegations surfaced that he had sent sexually suggestive e-mails and instant messages to young boys (under age 18) who were serving as Congressional pages. Although an October 5 Drudge report claims sources say the "now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges" that led to the Congressman's resignation were part of "an online prank" that went awry, Foley has not denied the inappropriate communications.
The Congressman has insisted, however, that he has never had sexual contact with any minor and has communicated -- through his attorney -- that he does have an alcohol problem and engaged in the inappropriate exchanges of messages while intoxicated. His direct comments have been carefully measured since the allegations of misconduct became public.
In one statement after his resignation, Foley noted, 'I am deeply sorry, and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent.' Shortly afterward, on October 2, the former Florida representative checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic, presumably for treatment of his alcohol problem.
On October 3, 2006, Foley's attorney told the press that the Congressman is, in fact, homosexual and that he had been sexually abused by a clergyman while between the ages of 13 and 15. The lawyer went on to say that Foley "wants you to know he is a gay man."
Ministry Leader: Facing Facts About the Molestation-Homosexuality Link
Stephen Bennett, a former homosexual and founder of Stephen Bennett Ministries (SBM), says his ministry often deals with homosexuals who were abused as youngsters. In fact, he says there is a definite correlation between molestation and homosexuality.
"This is the truth that people need to understand, that molestation is a vicious, vicious cycle and the media is afraid -- most of the secular media, because it's politically incorrect -- to make that association between molestation and homosexuality," Bennett says. However, he asserts, just because Foley has suffered at the hands of a homosexual clergyman does not mean the former Congressman has to be a by-product of that cycle.
Bennett was involved in the homosexual lifestyle for more than a decade, until he surrendered his life to Christ. Today he lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children, and he is convinced that change is possible for Foley as well.
"He can change," the ministry founder insists. He says Foley can "deal with these deep rooted, painful issues so that, God forbid, he doesn't affect anybody else, and he can receive that help that he needs himself," but first "he needs to admit that he has a problem," and it has to be the real problem.
While Foley's public statements seem to be focused on acknowledging his homosexuality and his issues with alcohol, Bennett feels the ex-political leader is taking the wrong approach to resolving his most basic and genuine need. "He came out in a statement saying he wants everyone to know that he's gay," the SBM spokesman notes, "but that's not the answer. The answer is Jesus Christ."
Bennett says his heart breaks for Foley, "who has been living a double life for all of these years due to a homosexual molestation." The ministry founder notes that SBM sees situations like this daily, and it is sadly not at all uncommon for the child who is molested by another individual of the same sex to become the molester later on in life.
And it is time, Bennett urges, for people "to stop worrying about being 'politically correct' in the media regarding homosexuality and finally deal with the truth ... that homosexual (and heterosexual) molestation of children can and [do] produce future homosexual men and women.
"Foley's story is so tragically typical," Stephen Bennett says. But the good news, he adds, is that the former Congressman and others like him can find deliverance from the homosexual lifestyle through a relationship with Christ, because help and hope are available, and change is completely possible.
