When he left after two decades at the Executive Committee, Boto was honored for his long service. “I have known Augie for many years and appreciate his close walk with the Lord, his deep commitment to his family, his active involvement in his local church, and his love for the Southern Baptist Convention,” then-Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd told Baptist Press. “He is a Christian gentleman and a godly layman of the highest order.”
D. August “Augie” Boto in an undated image. Photo courtesy of SBC Executive Committee
After his retirement, Boto became involved in an effort to take over a Texas foundation set up to support Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Baylor University. The two schools sued, and in a settlement, Boto and other leaders agreed that they would not seek jobs or any role as an “officer, director, or trustee” at any Texas charity or national entity of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Desen told committee members that the Executive Committee had been asked to look into possibly revoking Boto’s retirement benefits. The committee may also look into revoking the retirement benefits of former Executive Committee President Frank Page, who retired in 2018 after admitting sexual misconduct.
Rachael Denhollander, a survivor and activist who advised the SBC’s abuse task force, had warned Southern Baptists not to place all the blame for their abuse crisis at the feet of Boto and another SBC lawyer named in the report.
“Southern Baptists are going to have to start asking some very difficult questions, including, and probably most importantly, how could this have gone on for so long?” Denhollander told Religion News Service after the abuse report was released.
For her part, Brown said in an email that she was grateful for the decision to repudiate Boto’s letter, but she called it “one very small step.”
“So much more is needed,” she continued, “but I hope that this may be the start of a new era in how the EC relates to SBC clergy sex abuse survivors.”
This article originally appeared here.
