Have you ever heard a sermon on the consequences of childhood sexual abuse?  Have you ever heard a sermon on the consequences of any type of abuse?…physical, verbal, spiritual…No one questions the truth that abuse does devastating life long damage to the human soul.  There are 40 million survivors (a conservative estimate) of just chilhood sexual abuse in the United States alone.  Every family knows of someone that has suffered abuse.  And yet, very few if any have the courage to address this issue in a public forum.  Why?  In a word…Shame…The sheer evil of sexual abuse shames our world into silence.  Perpetrators are quickly wisked away and hidden from view while survivors slip into self imposed silence.  Silence hides shame and communities prefer to ignore rather than confront.  Millions live  in the shadows enduring lives of internal suffering.  They are your neighbors, doctors, pastors, teachers…children.  What’s the answer?  Speak out…challenge your community leaders, pastors, and schools to make this a public issue.  Millions of lives are damaged and millions more are affected by this silent plague.  It is long past time to shine some light on this horror.