(Decatur, Georgia) In suburban Atlanta a few Sundays ago, Archbishop Earl Pearly Paulk, Jr. of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church revealed to the flock that he slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her.
Additionally, the child born didn't know that Earl Paulk was his true father until 34 years had elapsed. Donnie Earl (D.E.) Paulk thought Earl was his uncle and so did everyone else.
"I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and the families hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and our sinfulness," said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a year and a half ago.The paternity test was ordered by a judge at the request of the Cobb County DA and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in a case alleging perjury and false-swearing by Earl Paulk. A former church worker sued the archbishop for manipulating her to have sex with him to achieve her salvation. Paulk admitted to the sex but also said under oath that it was the only time he had sex outside his marriage. The paternity test proved otherwise.
D.E. Paulk said he did not learn the secret of his parentage until the paternity test. "I was disappointed, and I was surprised," he said.
Started in 1960 in an Atlanta neighborhood, the church grew to 10,000 members in the 1990s worshipping on a 100-acre estate with "a collection of buildings surrounding a neo-Gothic cathedral." The membership paid for a worldwide television ministry, a Bible college and two schools.
However, the sex scandals and lawsuits, involving most prominently Cindy Hall, Mona Brewer, Tricia Weeks and Jessica Battle, have taken a mighty toll on the congregation and members now number about 1,500. Gone are the Bible college and the TV ministry.
Most blame rests on the shoulders of Archbishop Earl Pearly Paulk, Jr. for repeatedly not being able to resist the temptations of the flesh. In that regard, this lofty man of God is pretty much just the average Joe.
Tip: Don Morgenstern
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