Editorial comment: Has the church been turned into a dating hub?

This is the main question on the lips of many observers following a surge in cases of infidelity.

The once sacred house of God has been turned into a dating platform.

Instead of getting sanctuary, redemption and renewed hope in Jesus Christ at church, female congregants have become targets of these sex predators masquerading as pastors.

In short, cases involving men of the cloth who seduce and bed gullible congregants, continue to make headlines.

How such women easily give away their bodies to these sex predators, who are hiding behind the Bible, is both shocking and worrisome.

Their victims only come to their senses after being violated.

And, it seems this has become an in-thing with the new crop of pastors, as they are preying on congregants.

This new demon has also manifested itself in senior pastors, church elder and deacons, who should lead by example.

Some pastors have impregnated congregants while others have been dragged to court for sexually assaulting their members.

In some cases, there are some pastors who have been humiliated after being caught between the sheets with married women.

In extreme cases, some pastors have been bashed after being caught offside with married women.

On Friday, we carried yet another sickening story involving an AFM pastor from Ushewokunze, whose assembly was shut down on allegations of adultery.

Members of the community are said to have attacked Reverend Tawanda Utete for allegedly bedding a married woman.

The disgraced man of cloth has since been expelled while the woman’s marriage of 13 years collapsed.

The illicit affair was unearthed by the ex-communicated pastor’s wife.

The Ushewokunze case is one of the serious ills, which are rampant in most churches, with many of them being concealed by elders.

By concealing such matters, we are not only bringing shame to ourselves but sowing seeds of immorality, doom and wickedness.

It’s high time whistle-blowers come to the fore and expose these bad apples.

We can’t afford to entertain such culprits, who have been on the loose for years.

A number of congregants are dying in silence because they cannot summon the courage to speak their minds.

The late Robert Gumbura, who was jailed for sexually assaulting female congregants, instantly comes to mind.

It took ages for the victims to speak out but sanity finally prevailed when the right platform was created.

After their horrific tales of sexual assault, at the hands of Gumbura, he was jailed and justice prevailed.

However, aggrieved parties need to be educated when they unearth and catch their married lovers, with such rogue pastors.

Meting instant justice on such culprits is never a solution since it is an offence on its own.

Such culprits deserve to be sued for adultery and it has worked for a number of aggrieved parties.

Taking the legal route is the only solution while pastors caught offside also need to repent.