Seth Udinski, FISM News
FISM News has covered the heartbreaking allegations against late apologist Ravi Zacharias since the beginning of 2021. Zacharias was postumously found guilty of numerous sexual abuse allegations against multiple women. Now, the ministry he founded, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), is in the difficult position of accepting responsibility, moving forward, and regaining trust. The ministry has announced that it will change its name, and also asked that any anonymous victims of Zacharias to report the abuse they experienced.
According to some reports, several influential members of RZIM knew about certain abuse issues, but did not say anything. The United States board of RZIM issued a statement recently admitting its shortcomings:
Our trust in Ravi’s denial of moral wrongdoing and in his deceptive explanations of emails and other records that became public was severely misplaced. We also recognize that in situations of prolonged abuse, there often exist significant structural, policy, and cultural problems. It is imperative that where these things exist in our organization, we take focused steps to ensure they are properly diagnosed and addressed.
RZIM boards from several other nations have also released statements of their own, encouraging victims to speak. Given the nature of this tragic situation, the ministry will likely undergo a complete deconstruction period, expected to last months. RZIM has not announced its new name or the nature of its new vision.
FISM News will continue to cover this devastating development.