Pace memorandum

The Pace memorandum was a 1990 memorandum written by Glenn L. Pace, a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, describing to a committee of the church the complaints of sixty members of the church that claimed they had been subjected to Satanic ritual abuse (SRA) by family members and other members of the church. The state of Utah investigated these claims after the Pace memorandum was leaked to the press in 1991; however, no evidence was discovered that substantiated any of the allegations.

Background

Allegations of ritualized abuse with satanic overtones (satanic ritual abuse) became increasingly common in the 1980s, impacting research, treatment and public awareness of childhood abuse. Beginning in the early 1990s, adherents in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) began telling leaders of the church that they had been subjected to SRA by their relatives—often parents—and other members of the church.

The Pace memorandum

In July 1990, Glenn L. Pace, who at the time was a member of the church's presiding bishopric, fulfilled a request by the church's Strengthening Church Members Committee by writing a memorandum about his investigations into alleged incidents of SRA among Latter-day Saints in Utah, Idaho, California, Mexico, and elsewhere.Glenn L. Pace, [http://mormonalliance.org/casereports/volume1/part1/v1p1c06.htm#ELDER%20GLENN%20L.%20PACE:%201990%20MEMO "Ritualistic Child Abuse"] , memorandum to Strengthening Church Members Committee, 1990-07-19. A photoreproduction of the memo is in Jerald and Sandra Tanner (1992). "Satanic Ritual Abuse and Mormonism" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Lighthouse Ministry) and is available at [http://www.utlm.org/newsletters/no80.htm#PACE%20MEMO utlm.org] .] The memorandum was leaked to the press in October 1991."Salt Lake Tribune", 1991-10-25, p. A1.] Patty Henetz, "Church evaluating repots of Satanic cults in Utah", "Deseret News", 1991-10-25, p. A1.] ["Leaked Bishop's Memo Spotlights LDS Ritual Satanic Sexual Abuse", "Sunstone", Nov. 1991, p. 58.] In his memo, Pace stated that he had met with sixty victims who had recovered memories of ritualistic abuse during their childhood. Pace reported that children were being "instructed in satanic doctrine" and that as eight year olds they were "baptized by blood into the satanic order which is meant to cancel out their baptism into the Church". Forty-five of Pace's witnesses claimed to have witnessed or participated in human sacrifice, including the killing of babies. It was also widely reported that children were being ritually tortured and raped.Fact|date=June 2008 Pace said that the alleged perpetrators included "Young Women leaders, Young Men leaders, bishops, a patriarch, a stake president, temple workers, and members of the Tabernacle Choir" and that some of the abuse took place in church meetinghouses. Pace wrote that "when sixty witnesses testify to the same type of torture and murder, it becomes impossible for me, personally, not to believe them."James Coates, "Mormons Study Satanism Claims: Members Report Abuse As Kids By Renegade Cliques", "Arizona Republic", 1990-11-03, p. A7.]

Pace compared these allegations to stories in LDS Church scriptures about secret combinations and Cain's combination with Satan to become Master Mahan. Pace also suggested that the alleged abusers were using and corrupting the oaths in the church's temple Endowment ceremony as part of the Satanic abuse, and that many victims had flashbacks when they attended the temple for the first time and were asked to participate in the blood oaths. [The LDS Church had removed the blood oaths as part of the Endowment ceremony in April 1990. It is not known if Pace's investigations were related to the decision to remove the blood oaths.]

Government investigation

In 1991, the Utah State Legislature appropriated $250,000 for the Attorney General's office to investigate the ritual abuse allegations in the state of Utah. [B.A. Robinson, [http://www.religioustolerance.org/ra_rep04.htm "Utah State Government's Inquiry into Ritual Crime"] , 2000-11-23, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance webpage.] Over a two and one half year span the investigators interviewed hundreds of alleged victims, but they were unable "to substantiate with physical evidence the incidents reported." [Jerry Spangler, "Report Finds Little Proof of Ritual Abuse", "Deseret News", 1995-04-25, p. B2.] Out of 125 cases of alleged ritual crime, one case had 12 convictions and in another case where two alleged perpetrators admitted to crimes, the statute of limitations had run out.citation | url = http://www.saferchildren.net/print/utahag.pdf | format = pdf | last = King | first = Michael R. | last2 = Jacobson |first2 = Matt | year = 1995 | title = Ritual Crime in the State of Utah: Investigation, Analysis & A Look Forward | location = Salt Lake City | publisher = Utah Attorney General's Office | page = 48] Specifically, the 1995 report stated that " [v] ictims giving personal accounts of involvement with homicides could not produce enough evidence to warrant an investigation." [King & Jacobson, 1995, p. 33.] The report stated however that “the lack of prosecution of such reports does not mean that the reports are fictitious." Mike King, the coauthor of the report, told news media that the specific accusations against church leaders were "absurd",Associated Press, [http://www.smwane.dk/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=83 "Satanism Probe Comes Up Empty,"] "Salt Lake Tribune", 1995-02-28, p. D3.] and Jerry Lazar, the head of psychiatry at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, said he "has never been able to independently verify memories of satanic ritual abuse". Yet, a Utah psychologist stated that there were 366 victims of SRA under treatment by Utah therapists.

Church reaction

The church has made no official statement related to the allegations related in the Pace memorandum. However, one commentator has suggested that Apostle Richard G. Scott's sermon in the April 1992 general conference of the church may have been related to the SRA allegations. [Massimo Introvigne, [http://www.cesnur.org/2001/archive/mi_mormons.htm "A Rumor of Devils: Allegations of Satanic Child Abuse and Mormonism, 1985–1994"] , paper read at the Annual Conference of the Mormon History Association in Park City, Utah, 1994-05-21.] In his remarks, Scott warned Latter-day Saints:

I caution you not to participate in ... improper therapeutic practices that may cause you more harm than good. ... Detailed leading questions that probe your past may unwittingly trigger thoughts that are more imagination or fantasy than reality. They could lead to condemnation of another for acts that were not committed. While likely few in number, I know of cases where such therapy has caused great injustice to the innocent from unwittingly stimulated accusations that were later proven false. Memory, particularly adult memory of childhood experiences, is fallible. Remember, false accusation is also a sin. [Richard G. Scott, [http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=844194bf3938b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Healing the Tragic Scars of Abuse,”] "Ensign", May 1992, 31.]

ee also

*False allegation of child sexual abuse

Notes