Schuller ‘Relieved’ That Bakker Case Has Ended

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, said after Thursday’s guilty verdicts against the founder of the PTL Ministries that he was “relieved that this sad and painful story has come to an end.”

Schuller, who at first defended Jim Bakker against charges of sexual impropriety but had not publicly discussed the federal mail fraud charges, said he harbored no ill feeling against Jim or Tammy Bakker for turning upside down the world of television evangelism.

“I have no resentment--that would be unthinkable and against my religion,” Schuller said in a telephone interview from Springfield, Va., where he was promoting his latest book.

Schuller likened the Bakker ordeal to a big earthquake with Jim and Tammy at the center. After it struck 2 1/2 years ago, he said, truckloads of inspectors rushed in seeking cracks in the churches and the foundations upon which they stood.

He said he himself was scrutinized by the newspapers and “passed the inspection. . . . The foundations were safe and solid,” Schuller said. “Now it is safe to trust in trust.” Schuller praised the priests, rabbis, pastors, ministers and clergymen who have been “doing steady and solid work during the last 2 1/2 years” and said the future of television evangelism looks healthy.

“Our market share is up in television,” he said, adding that there is room for tremendous growth. “You have to be able to trust someone.”