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Archdiocese of Chicago: Office for the Protection of Children and Youth

Mission

Protect the dignity of children and assist those who have been affected by abuse.

History

The Office for the Protection of Children and Youth was opened in 2003 following the passage of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Office focused on training adults how to protect children from sexual abuse.

Background checks were mandated for all clergy, all employees and all volunteers who work with children. In Fall 2006, the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth was re-organized to include the Offices of Assistance Ministry and Child Abuse Investigations and Review. The Safe Environment Office was created in 2007. The re-organization of the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth has resulted in the creation of the Children Matter Network and new educational programs for children and adults.

http://www.archdiocese-chgo.org/departments/protection/protection.shtm

Clerical sexual abuse of minors: policies for education, prevention, assistance to victims and procedures for determination of fitness for ministry

http://policy.archchicago.org/policies/bk2ttl3chpt1num1100.pdf

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/responding_to_child_sexual_abuse

Responding To Child Sexual Abuse

Updated July 2004

When a child tells an adult that he or she has been sexually abused, the adult may feel uncomfortable and may not know what to say or do. The following guidelines should be used when responding to children who say they have been sexually abused:

What to Say
If a child even hints in a vague way that sexual abuse has occurred, encourage him or her to talk freely. Don't make judgmental comments.

* Show that you understand and take seriously what the child is saying. Child and adolescent psychiatrists have found that children who are listened to and understood do much better than those who are not. The response to the disclosure of sexual abuse is critical to the child's ability to resolve and heal the trauma of sexual abuse.

* Assure the child that they did the right thing in telling. A child who is close to the abuser may feel guilty about revealing the secret. The child may feel frightened if the abuser has threatened to harm the child or other family members as punishment for telling the secret.

* Tell the child that he or she is not to blame for the sexual abuse. Most children in attempting to make sense out of the abuse will believe that somehow they caused it or may even view it as a form of punishment for imagined or real wrongdoings.

* Finally, offer the child protection, and promise that you will promptly take steps to see that the abuse stops.

What to Do

Report any suspicion of child abuse. If the abuse is within the family, report it to the local Child Protection Agency. If the abuse is outside of the family, report it to the police or district attorney's office. Individuals reporting in good faith are immune from prosecution. The agency receiving the report will conduct an evaluation and will take action to protect the child.

Parents should consult with their pediatrician or family physician, who may refer them to a physician who specializes in evaluating and treating sexual abuse. The examining doctor will evaluate the child's condition and treat any physical problem related to the abuse, gather evidence to help protect the child, and reassure the child that he or she is all right.

Children who have been sexually abused should have an evaluation by a child and adolescent psychiatrist or other qualified mental health professional to find out how the sexual abuse has affected them, and to determine whether ongoing professional help is necessary for the child to deal with the trauma of the abuse. The child and adolescent psychiatrist can also provide support to other family members who may be upset by the abuse.

While most allegations of sexual abuse made by children are true, some false accusations may arise in custody disputes and in other situations. Occasionally, the court will ask a child and adolescent psychiatrist to help determine whether the child is telling the truth, or whether it will hurt the child to speak in court about the abuse.

When a child is asked as to testify, special considerations--such as videotaping, frequent breaks, exclusion of spectators, and the option not to look at the accused--make the experience much less stressful.

Adults, because of their maturity and knowledge, are always the ones to blame when they abuse children. The abused children should never be blamed.

When a child tells someone about sexual abuse, a supportive, caring response is the first step in getting help for the child and reestablishing their trust in adults.

Facts for families about child sexual abuse from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Updated May 2008

Child sexual abuse has been reported up to 80,000 times a year, but the number of unreported instances is far greater, because the children are afraid to tell anyone what has happened, and the legal procedure for validating an episode is difficult. The problem should be identified, the abuse stopped, and the child should receive professional help. The long-term emotional and psychological damage of sexual abuse can be devastating to the child.

Child sexual abuse can take place within the family, by a parent, step-parent, sibling or other relative; or outside the home, for example, by a friend, neighbor, child care person, teacher, or stranger. When sexual abuse has occurred, a child can develop a variety of distressing feelings, thoughts and behaviors...

Child sexual abusers can make the child extremely fearful of telling, and only when a special effort has helped the child to feel safe, can the child talk freely. If a child says that he or she has been molested, parents should try to remain calm and reassure the child that what happened was not their fault. Parents should seek a medical examination and psychiatric consultation.

Parents can prevent or lessen the chance of sexual abuse by:

* Telling children that if someone tries to touch your body and do things that make you feel funny, say NO to that person and tell me right away

* Teaching children that respect does not mean blind obedience to adults and to authority, for example, don't tell children to, Always do everything the teacher or baby-sitter tells you to do

* Encouraging professional prevention programs in the local school system

Sexually abused children and their families need immediate professional evaluation and treatment. Child and adolescent psychiatrists can help abused children regain a sense of self-esteem, cope with feelings of guilt about the abuse, and begin the process of overcoming the trauma. Such treatment can help reduce the risk that the child will develop serious problems as an adult.

Info from the following link:

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/child_sexual_abuse

Homosexuality is a common devience in the world, not simply in one church. Tells us all what other churches are doing to deal with it.

Another Survivor

As a Catholic, I am deeply grieved to hear about the suffering you had to endure at the hands of a mentally ill monk who abused you sexually. I trust that you received financial compensation and that you are availing yourself of the opportunity to get long term cognitive-behavioral therapy to deal with your trauma. I hope too that you have supportive friends and family.

I do hope that you will try your best to accept the Pope's apology as genuine, no matter how difficult forgiveness of your abuser and restoration of trust in the system may be to you as a victim. It is my prayer that you will have faith in the grace of God to work through the priests and Bishops who are not abusers of children and will do whatever is in their power to prevent such abuse from happening again.

Even if it is no consolation to you, you must know that many children are abused by members of their own family. Can you imagine what sort of a nightmare that is for a child? Do we give up our trust in families for that reason? No. We try to protect the children anyway without losing faith in families.

I do not know if you have read these books:

The Betrayal Bond by Patric Carnes

The Resilient Self by Steven Wolin

The Apology by Aaron Lazare

They are worth investing time in reading.

Healing is a long and slow process. Be patient and confident in the healing power of Jesus. I wish you God's love and strength and support from health professionals and friends.

I am a survivor of sexual abuse by a monk. I do think the author of this piece is onto something. I have also personally known other clergy who have been accused and convicted of abuse as well. They would all fit into the author's definition as well. And with the changes in the US seminaries, going back to the sexual repressions of the past, we are setting up the church in the USA for another wave of abuse in the future....I would not hesitate to predict it will break in about 10 years. The new priests I am seeing ordained these days scares me half to death.

But, I do feel the author leaves out one thing. Coupled with this lack of teaching and open-ness to sexuality, we also see a return of the old heresy of "Father knows best". Rank clericalism and the idea that clergy are somehow above the laity and therefore deserving of power and privilege. This is combined with an immature sexual development are the root causes of the abuse crisis.

The Pope may have sounded good with his "concern" for those abused, but I want to see him actually walk the walk, not just talk the talk. So far, I don't see any changes in how they handle the bishops who have covered up for the abusers, allowing them to go from parish to parish or diocese to diocese, as well as from country to country. When those guys are removed from ministry and disciplined as well as the accused priests, then I will know he is serious about stopping the abuse scandals.

Oh, and my abuser (another serial abuser as well). It took over 30 years for him to be removed from the religious state. He was allowed to move from diocese to diocese, with reports of abuse in each place. It was only when someone finally filed a lawsuit that he was released from vows and the religious community he had founded dissolved. The group is still together though, still passing themselves off as legitimate religious and living off the tons of money he bilked out of trusting folks over the years.

Among the countersigns to the Gospel of life found in America and elsewhere is one that causes deep shame: the sexual abuse of minors. Many of you have spoken to me of the enormous pain that your communities have suffered when clerics have betrayed their priestly obligations and duties by such gravely immoral behavior. As you strive to eliminate this evil wherever it occurs, you may be assured of the prayerful support of God's people throughout the world. Rightly, you attach priority to showing compassion and care to the victims. It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged.

Responding to this situation has not been easy and, as the President of your Episcopal Conference has indicated, it was "sometimes very badly handled". Now that the scale and gravity of the problem is more clearly understood, you have been able to adopt more focused remedial and disciplinary measures and to promote a safe environment that gives greater protection to young people. While it must be remembered that the overwhelming majority of clergy and religious in America do outstanding work in bringing the liberating message of the Gospel to the people entrusted to their care, it is vitally important that the vulnerable always be shielded from those who would cause harm. In this regard, your efforts to heal and protect are bearing great fruit not only for those directly under your pastoral care, but for all of society.

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this task - not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as pastors modelled upon Christ, the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud and clear, and thus to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores. Moreover, by acknowledging and confronting the problem when it occurs in an ecclesial setting, you can give a lead to others, since this scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined, collective response.

Priests, too, need your guidance and closeness during this difficult time. They have experienced shame over what has occurred, and there are those who feel they have lost some of the trust and esteem they once enjoyed. Not a few are experiencing a closeness to Christ in his Passion as they struggle to come to terms with the consequences of the crisis. The Bishop, as father, brother and friend of his priests, can help them to draw spiritual fruit from this union with Christ by making them aware of the Lord's consoling presence in the midst of their suffering, and by encouraging them to walk with the Lord along the path of hope (cf. Spe Salvi, 39). As Pope John Paul II observed six years ago, "we must be confident that this time of trial will bring a purification of the entire Catholic community", leading to "a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate and a holier Church" (Address to the Cardinals of the United States, 23 April 2002, 4). There are many signs that, during the intervening period, such purification has indeed been taking place. Christ's abiding presence in the midst of our suffering is gradually transforming our darkness into light: all things are indeed being made new in Christ Jesus our hope.

At this stage a vital part of your task is to strengthen relationships with your clergy, especially in those cases where tension has arisen between priests and their bishops in the wake of the crisis. It is important that you continue to show them your concern, to support them, and to lead by example. In this way you will surely help them to encounter the living God, and point them towards the life-transforming hope of which the Gospel speaks. If you yourselves live in a manner closely configured to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, you will inspire your brother priests to rededicate themselves to the service of their flocks with Christ-like generosity. Indeed a clearer focus upon the imitation of Christ in holiness of life is exactly what is needed in order for us to move forward. We need to rediscover the joy of living a Christ-centred life, cultivating the virtues, and immersing ourselves in prayer. When the faithful know that their pastor is a man who prays and who dedicates his life to serving them, they respond with warmth and affection which nourishes and sustains the life of the whole community.

Time spent in prayer is never wasted, however urgent the duties that press upon us from every side. Adoration of Christ our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament prolongs and intensifies the union with him that is established through the Eucharistic celebration (cf. Sacramentum Caritatis, 66). Contemplation of the mysteries of the Rosary releases all their saving power and it conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ (cf. Rosarium Virginis Mariae, 11, 15). Fidelity to the Liturgy of the Hours ensures that the whole of our day is sanctified and it continually reminds us of the need to remain focused on doing God's work, however many pressures and distractions may arise from the task at hand. Thus our devotion helps us to speak and act in persona Christi, to teach, govern and sanctify the faithful in the name of Jesus, to bring his reconciliation, his healing and his love to all his beloved brothers and sisters. This radical configuration to Christ, the Good Shepherd, lies at the heart of our pastoral ministry, and if we open ourselves through prayer to the power of the Spirit, he will give us the gifts we need to carry out our daunting task, so that we need never "be anxious how to speak or what to say" (Mt 10:19).

-----------Pope Benedict XVI

(to the Bishops of the US, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008)

PAGANPLACE,

You've got your facts wrong.

I do not equate pedophiles and homosexuals, nor do I have a problem with gay priests - as long as they are celibate. Most of the documented abuse involves males (priests) abusing other males (boys), so it is by definition a homosexual crime. Homo from the Greek meaning same, and sexual because it is a sexual attack.

Yes you are right sometimes the predator will seek out girls too. So, let me clarify my position. I am in favor of developing testing and screening methods for ALL who want to be priests, gay and straight, to provide the maximum protection against pedophiles who victimize boys and girls.

With all due respect, I think your analysis of the Church is off base. There is no commandment to demonize gays, nor is there one promoting homophobia. There is no sign at the door banning gays. That attitude is a sin, and goes against the teachings of Our Savior. The church is open to all, gay and straight, just as Jesus set an example of love and kindness to all.

If you've experienced a church that's intolerant or tries to shame its members for being gay, go out and find another. There are many wonderful communities of catholics who would welcome you.

Lawyer Gregory Murphy's attack on the Catholic Church's response to pedophilia {letters, Dec. 31} sought to create the impression that the church is callous to the horror of pedophilia. That impression is false. The facts are:

The Archdiocese of Washington implemented a strict and thorough policy on pedophilia in 1985; it was one of the first dioceses in the country to do so. That policy was reviewed and strengthened in 1993. Today, almost every diocese in the country has a similar policy.

-----The Washington Post | Date: 1/9/1994

Pedophilia involves sexual attraction/orientation towards children, and usually involves males. Pedophilia is very rare among females. It is characterized by recurrent intense sexual-arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children for at least a 6-month period of time. What this means is that the sexual attraction/orientation of the person (usually a male) is toward a child rather than an adult. It has been estimated that sex offenders are often involved with two or more children, and the problem is often a recurrent one.

Mental health professionals agree that child molesters should never be considered normal, but is a disease.

Four percent of the population suffers from sexual orientation toward children. In 1999, 93,000 kids were sexually abused. 50% of the abusers were parents of the children. 18% were relatives. This means that almost 70% of children were molested by family members, fathers, uncles, and grandfathers – males they trusted.

What causes pedophilia? No one decides, "I’m going to grow up and be a child pedophile."

We know that pedophilia runs in families. Boys who are molested often molest boys when they grow up. Do they molest because they were molested or because they have a genetic sexual orientation toward children?

I feel that there is a strong genetic predisposition in pedophilia. I believe that pedophilia runs in families and seems to be a variant of OCD, which has strong genetic predispositions. In other words, pedophilia seems to be an illness that is caused by abnormal brain chemistry with strong genetic connections...

Dr. Herbert Wagemaker
Board-certified psychiatrist and Renowned Author

"Pedophilia: Causes And Typologies."

123HelpMe.com. 24 Apr 2008

123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=80976

Prevention of Sexual Abuse

The main method for preventing pedophilia is avoiding situations that may promote pedophilic acts. Children should never be allowed to in one-on-one situations with any adult other than their parents or trustworthy family members. Having another youth or adult as an observer provides some security for all concerned. Conferences and other activities can be conducted so as to provide privacy while still within sight of others.

Children should be taught to yell or run if they are faced with an uncomfortable situation. They should also be taught that it is acceptable to scream or call for help in such situations.

Another basis of preventing pedophilia is education. Children must be taught to avoid situations that make them vulnerable to pedophiles. Adults who work with youth must be taught to avoid situations that may be construed as promoting pedophilia.

Many states have adopted legislation that requires periodic background investigations of any adult who works with children. These persons may be paid, such as teachers, or they may be volunteers in a youth-serving organization.

The Boy Scouts of America has tried to address the problem of pedophilia by creating a training program that is required for all adults in the organization. All applications for volunteers are reviewed and approved by several persons. Adults and youth are required to use separate facilities on all activities. Secret meetings and one-on-one interactions between adults and youth are prohibited. This program has received several national awards.
---------------
By L. Fleming Fallon, Jr., M.D., Dr.P.H.

http psychologytoday.com/conditions/pedophilia.html

Pedophilia is considered a paraphilia, an "abnormal or unnatural attraction." Pedophilia is defined as the fantasy or act of sexual activity with prepubescent children. Pedophiles are usually men, and can be attracted to either or both sexes. How well they relate to adults of the opposite sex varies.

Perpetrators often delude themselves into viewing their actions as helpful to children. They might tell themselves they are contributing to a child's development or that the child is enjoying the act; however, they do tell their victims not to alert their parents or authorities.

An estimated 20 percent of American children have been sexually molested, making pedophilia the most common paraphilia. Offenders are usually family friends or relatives. Types of activities vary and may include just looking at a child or undressing and touching a child. However, acts often do involve oral sex or touching of genitals of the child or offender. Studies suggest that children who feel uncared for or lonely may be at higher risk.

Symptoms

Recurrent, intense sexual fantasies, urges or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child (generally age 13 years or younger) for a period of at least 6 months.

These fantasies, urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in everyday functioning.

The person is at least age 16 and at least 5 years older than the child in the first category.

However, this does not include an individual in late adolescence involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 12- or 13-year-old.

There are a number of difficulties with the diagnosis of pedophilia. People who have the disease rarely seek help voluntarily—counseling and treatment are often the result of a court order. Interviews, surveillance, or Internet records obtained through the criminal investigation can be helpful evidence in diagnosing the disorder.

Paraphilias as a group have a high rate of comorbidity with one another and an equally high rate of comorbidity with anxiety, major depression or mood disorders, and substance abuse disorders.

Causes

The causes of pedophilia (and other paraphilias) are not known. There is some evidence that pedophilia may run in families, though it is unclear whether this stems from genetics or learned behavior.

Other factors, such as abnormalities in male sexual hormones or the brain chemical serotonin, have not been proven as factors in the development of paraphilias or pedophilia. A history of childhood sexual abuse is also a potential factor in the development of pedophilias but this, too, has not been proven.

Behavioral learning models suggest that a child who is the victim or observer of inappropriate sexual behaviors learns to imitate and is later reinforced for the behavior. These individuals are deprived of normal social sexual contacts and thus seek gratification through less socially acceptable means. Physiological models focus on the relationship between hormones, behavior, and the central nervous system with a particular interest in the role of aggression and male sexual hormones.

Treatment

Two types of treatment still being investigated are antiandrogens, which reduce male sex hormone levels, and medications that increase serotonin, such as fluoxetine (Prozac).

Intensity of sex drive is not consistently related to the behavior of paraphiliacs and high levels of circulating testosterone do not predispose a male to paraphilias. Hormones such as medroxyprogesterone acetate and cyproterone acetate decrease the level of circulating testosterone thereby reducing sex drive and aggression. These hormones reduce the frequency of erections, sexual fantasies, and initiations of sexual behaviors including masturbation and intercourse. Hormones are typically used in tandem with behavioral and cognitive treatments. Antidepressants such as fluoxetine have also successfully decreased sex drive but have not effectively targeted sexual fantasies.

Research suggests that cognitive-behavioral models are effective in treating paraphiliacs. Aversive conditioning involves using negative stimuli to reduce or eliminate a behavior. Covert sensitization involves the patient relaxing and visualizing scenes of deviant behavior followed by a negative event such as getting his penis stuck in the zipper of his pants. Assisted aversive conditioning is similar to covert sensitization except the negative event is real, such as in the form of a foul odor pumped in the air by the therapist. The goal is for the patient to associate the deviant behavior with the foul odor. Aversive behavioral reversal is commonly known as "shame therapy;" the goal is to humiliate the offender into ceasing the deviant behavior. For example, the offender might watch videotapes of their crime with the goal that the experience will be distasteful and offensive to the offender.

There are positive conditioning approaches that center on social skills training and alternate, more appropriate behaviors. Reconditioning, for example, is giving the patient immediate feedback, which may help him change his behavior. For instance, a person might be connected to a biofeedback machine connected to a light, he is taught to keep the light within a specific range of color while he is exposed to sexually stimulating material.

Cognitive therapies include restructuring cognitive distortions and empathy training. Restructuring cognitive distortions involves correcting a pedophile's thoughts that the child wishes to be involved in the activity. A pedophile observing a young girl wearing shorts may erroneously think, "she wants me." Empathy training involves helping the offender take on the perspective of the victim and to identify with the victim and understand the harm.

Use of alcohol and difficulty forming intimate relationships with adult women increase the chance of recidivism in men convicted of pedophilia and later released. Also, men who prefer boys are approximately twice as likely to reoffend as those who prefer girls.

Sources:

* American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
* Morrison, J, MD. (1995) DSM-IV(TM) Made Easy: The Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis
* Nathan, P. E., Gorman, J. M., & Salkind, N. J. (Eds.). (1999). Treating Mental Disorders: A Guide To What Works

Last Reviewed: 07 Sept 2006
Last Reviewed By: Laura Stephens

Hi Paganplace!

I have made several attempts to post, but without success. Yet another go...

Paganplace, how much scientific evidence exists that celibacy in itself makes pedophiles of adults? Pedophilia is defined as exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.

Celibacy in the religious tradition predates Christianity by several centuries in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Hi Paganplace!

The Pope's public apologies (at least three times!) should be proof that he neither condones the wrong doing nor intends to do nothing about it. I understand that the Church has been trying to put measures in place to prevent such things happening again and is open to suggestions and contribution to healing from all its members.

However it is rather simplistic to attribute the disease of pedophilia to the practice of mandatory celibacy among Catholic clergy. That is not only scientifically wrong (for it ignores the data available of sexual abuse among other groups, including domestic abuse) but also creates the mistaken notion that children would be 100% safe from sexual abuse by adults if celibate Catholic clergy disappeared.

"According to the author of the article, priests are NOT likely to be pedophiles than other groups of men, even married ones."

Well, Soja, it's not about that kind of number, anyway, it's about how much power such priests have over how many victims, and the particular betrayal of the authority they use to control kids...

Not to mention how many *victims* each abusing priest can make. Especially with both the Church hierarchy covering for them and moving them on to fresh pools of victims, and with many of the other people kids are supposed to be able to trust defending the priests and helping make them afraid to come forward. Look at the hostility toward anyone saying anything 'against the Church.'

Dear Professor Thistlethwaite

"Fighting like hell for the living" and protecting the children include empowering the children through intense sex education that will help them recognize sexual abuse no matter where they may subjected to it, (including at home from family members or adults they trust or come in contact with in any area of their life). Since children are usually silenced through threats, feelings of shame or guilt, or bribes, they must be sufficiently brave to overcome their fears to report abuse immediately.

I am confident that the Catholic Church will not ignore the issue anymore. So rest assured. Everyone must do whatever is in their power to ensure that all children are protected at all times from all sexual predators, no matter where they lurk.

Soja John Thaikattil
Sydney, Australia

I'm unable to post after several attempts. So I'll let the information I collected and my comments about them pass. It seems to be a problem with electronics and not with any person making a decision to filter content, as one can see from the sort of material posted by dear old Josevz that is getting through successfully.

Pedophiles and Priests by Philip Jenkins is recommended reading according to the article I have been unable to post.

According to the author of the article, priests are NOT likely to be pedophiles than other groups of men, even married ones.

I'm unable to post an interesting article titled:

10 Myths about Priestly Pedophilia - CRISIS E-Letter

When pedophiles begin to consider their sexual attraction to children as a sexual orientation and not a disease, we are bound to have more problems. When pedophiles get together to discuss their sexual attraction openly, they are also simultaneously breaking down their inhibitions and fears of indulging in sexual behavior. When more attention is paid to the disease by indulging in the pleasure of discussing it, the desire gets stronger, the inhibitions and fear of consequences get weaker. The gap between a desire/compulsion and manifestation of criminal behavior gets smaller.

People who abuse children as a rule lack empathy for their victims (the main there is little success through therapy as empathy cannot be taught). They rationalize their behavior and blame the victim.

Umm, Cal?

"-- The young teacher hung his head, avoiding eye contact. Yes, he had touched a fifth-grader's breast during recess. "I guess it was just lust of the flesh," he told his boss."

Now, someone does something like that, and phrases it in *that way,* and it's a *secular* system you want to blame? :)

Oh about some context for the Catholic haters?

AP: Sexual Misconduct Plagues US Schools

By MARTHA IRVINE and ROBERT TANNER
The Associated Press
Sunday, October 21, 2007; 7:18 AM

-- The young teacher hung his head, avoiding eye contact. Yes, he had touched a fifth-grader's breast during recess. "I guess it was just lust of the flesh," he told his boss.

That got Gary C. Lindsey fired from his first teaching job in Oelwein, Iowa. But it didn't end his career. He taught for decades in Illinois and Iowa, fending off at least a half-dozen more abuse accusations.

When he finally surrendered his teaching license in 2004 _ 40 years after that first little girl came forward _ it wasn't a principal or a state agency that ended his career. It was one persistent victim and her parents.

Lindsey's case is just a small example of a widespread problem in American schools: sexual misconduct by the very teachers who are supposed to be nurturing the nation's children.

Students in America's schools are groped. They're raped. They're pursued, seduced and think they're in love.

An Associated Press investigation found more than 2,500 cases over five years in which educators were punished for actions from bizarre to sadistic.

There are 3 million public school teachers nationwide, most devoted to their work. Yet the number of abusive educators _ nearly three for every school day _ speaks to a much larger problem in a system that is stacked against victims.

Most of the abuse never gets reported. Those cases reported often end with no action. Cases investigated sometimes can't be proven, and many abusers have several victims.

And no one _ not the schools, not the courts, not the state or federal governments _ has found a surefire way to keep molesting teachers out of classrooms.

Those are the findings of an AP investigation in which reporters sought disciplinary records in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The result is an unprecedented national look at the scope of sex offenses by educators _ the very definition of breach of trust.

The seven-month investigation found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Young people were the victims in at least 1,801 of the cases, and more than 80 percent of those were students. At least half the educators who were punished by their states also were convicted of crimes related to their misconduct.

The findings draw obvious comparisons to sex abuse scandals in other institutions, among them the Roman Catholic Church. A review by America's Catholic bishops found that about 4,400 of 110,000 priests were accused of molesting minors from 1950 through 2002.

Clergy abuse is part of the national consciousness after a string of highly publicized cases. But until now, there's been little sense of the extent of educator abuse.

Beyond the horror of individual crimes, the larger shame is that the institutions that govern education have only sporadically addressed a problem that's been apparent for years.

"From my own experience _ this could get me in trouble _ I think every single school district in the nation has at least one perpetrator. At least one," says Mary Jo McGrath, a California lawyer who has spent 30 years investigating abuse and misconduct in schools. "It doesn't matter if it's urban or rural or suburban."

One report mandated by Congress estimated that as many as 4.5 million students, out of roughly 50 million in American schools, are subject to sexual misconduct by an employee of a school sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade. That figure includes verbal harassment that's sexual in nature.

Jennah Bramow, one of Lindsey's accusers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wonders why there isn't more outrage.

"You're supposed to be able to send your kids to school knowing that they're going to be safe," says Bramow, now 20. While other victims accepted settlement deals and signed confidentiality agreements, she sued her city's schools for failing to protect her and others from Lindsey _ and won. Only then was Lindsey's teaching license finally revoked.

As an 8-year-old elementary-school student, Bramow told how Lindsey forced her hand on what she called his "pee-pee."

Thank you, Susan, for this piece. As a gay Catholic priest, I felt compelled to leave active ministry in the Church in the wake of the Vatican's 2005 statement. You are completely accurate in noting how gay priests have been scapegoated for the sex abuse scandal, and how history will no doubt repeat itself due to the renewed spirit of repression in American seminaries.

Well stated and thought out article. I myself at first, about four years ago, thought the problem of the sexual abuse of minors was due a kind of "homosexuals gone wild" problem: men with that proclivity coming out ordained from Catholic seminaries giving into their baser sexual desires with kids.

However, after I watched the movie "Deliver Us From Evil" which is about Oliver O'Grady a former Catholic priest and pedophile that I learned this problem couldn't have been caused by homosexuality. O'Gray's orientation is heterosexual; yet, he was sexually abusing boys and girls, under age 13. He himself was abused at an early age; entered the seminary barely in his teens and never had a real chance to become a mature man with regard to his sexuality. It was inevitable that he would turn from sexual prey to predator.

The problem here in the U.S. has barely been scratched, but the bishops just seem to want to pretend like it's just going to go away with time.

If they don't change the way they approach the problem - especially changing what they do when a priest is reported to have sexually preyed on children (i.e. turn them in to the police and NOT send them to some priest camp for rehab), I fear the cancer as Rev. Thistlethwaite rightly calls it, will only get worse and eventually kill the Catholic Church in the United States.

Mike, and Steve, ...pedophilia is not the same thing as homosexuality. In fact, girls are sexually-abused by priests as well. Boys make the news more, and the particular dogma and structure of the Catholic Church makes boys more vulnerable *because* of the Church's homophobia: boys who were being abused were often shamed and silenced, not to mention doubly traumatized because they were afraid of seeming 'gay,' and having all the scorn you guys show turned on *them.*

This hurts the straight kids as well as the gay and bisexual ones.

Predators go for the easy prey, and kids already made to be afraid and isolated because of their developing sexuality are often prime targets, as well as kids with family problems or otherwise considered less credible and more vulnerable. Girls' virginity in Catholicism is a bit more fiercely-guarded, but there's a certain 'machismo' undercurrent in the Catholic view that tends to put the scorn for homosexuality on the victim, as the one most 'unmasculine.'

Pedophilia and exploitation of minors is about *control,* really. And it's generally thought, and I certainly observe, often about arrested sexual development: this being often a side-effect of shame and repression. The Catholic system has a particularly vicious cycle about demonizing homosexuality, demanding homosexuals live a celibate and penitent life, then offering the clergy as the respectable way to not marry the opposite sex without being subject to suspicion of being homosexual, and all the ill-treatment that comes with that, ironically.

This isn't to say that sexual abuse and exploitation doesn't happen in other denominations, and it should be watched out for, and dealt with, too. But it excuses nothing.

Predators in other denominations with married clergy can more easily use the predator's tactics of 'romancing' young girls, ...just make a girl feel all special and spin a tale about future marriage, and she's vulnerable.

The only real solution to this is to take away the shame and shadows that predators use for cover. Teach kids self-respect and responsibility, not shame and fear.

Our Philadelphia Archdiocesan legal counsel surely doesn’t discriminate—whether the victims are young children brutalized by pedophilia or the elderly church attendees, they are dispatched in the same cold, dispassionate, and un-Christlike manner. This archdiocesan legal tradition exists solely to protect our archdiocesan leaders, lay and religious, from any accountability and liability. What would Jesus do?

(1) In the National Catholic Reporter 1999, the current Philadelphia archdiocesan counsel states:
“No matter how vigilant a pastor or principal is, he or she may still face a lawsuit, said Timothy Coyne, who represents the Philadelphia archdiocese and various religious orders. “The little old lady who says her beads daily in church will sue you if she slips and falls in church,” he warned. Coyne told priests to regard lawyers as their friends and to “call your lawyer even before you call the chancery or your insurer.” One wonders if Mr. Coyne ever sits next to elderly women when he attends Mass.
(2)C. Clark Hodgson, long-time counsel to the Philadelphia Archdiocese was quoted in a local newspaper:
“Church officials were not obligated by state law to report sex-abuse cases to civil authorities unless the actual child victim notified the church personally. If the child’s parent filed the complaint with the archdiocese, however, church officials did not have to notify police.
Mr. Hodgson was subsequently awarded the St. Thomas More Award 2006 from the St. Thomas More Society of Philadelphia (Catholic lawyers). Remarkably, St. Thomas More was martyred for his faith because he was a champion for following the “spirit of the law”, not the “letter of the law.” What is the likelihood that a young, innocent and vulnerable school age child who was subject to the humiliation, degradation and physical sexual abuse by a clergy member would have the strength to come forward when this same victim would feel so ashamed, broken, horrified and bewildered? Our archdiocesan attorneys were sure to exploit the legal loophole re reporting such pedophilia to authorities. This conduct was KNOWINGLY, DELIBERATELY and CONSCIOUSLY performed by Church attorneys at the expense of the child’s physical, emotional, psychological and moral well-being and survival. What else can be said?
(3) William Sasso, Chairman, Stradley and Ronon, according to the firm’s website:
“Attesting to Stradley Ronon’s strength in this area, we have long served as general counsel to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.”
“An attorney for the archdiocese, William R. Sasso accused the report of exhibiting religious bias because it did not investigate allegations of child sex abuse in other denominations.
“As a lawyer, as an individual who has seen similar reports, I find it to be biased and anti-Catholic,” Sasso said.
Interestingly, on the firm’s website, there is a picture of Mr. Sasso and Bono at a dinner where Bono was honored for his humanitarian efforts and compassion to those children at risk in Africa. And what did Mr. Sasso do when archdiocesan children were not only victimized and/or abused over the years but others put in danger when the abusing priests were moved from one location to another?
(4) Mark Chopko, former counsel to US Bishops, and now head of the non-profit group at Sasso’s law firm. I particularly liked reading a summary of one of his legal arguments where he claimed that diocesan management was not liable for clergy sexual abuse behavior because the priest’s religious functioning was protected behavior by our constitution.

In light the Philadelphia Archdiocese’s duplicity, treachery and chicanery that has been clearly documented and substantiated, I personally would like the answer to the following question:
How are Archdiocesan attorneys like William Sasso, C. Clark Hodgson and Mark Chopko actually able to sleep at night knowing that former-priest predators are living throughout our communities and pose a “clear and present danger” to the youngest, most innocent and vulnerable in our communities?

If everyone would just grow up and accept the facts that very few people are 100% heterosexual and that a certain percentage of all discrete groupings will always play for the other team, then Christianity could get on with the really important theological questions; important questions like, "How many angels dancing on the head of a pin will be homosexual?"

Dear Ms T,

It looks like you wrote this column BEFORE the Pope even arrived. Did you watch, listen or read any of the Pontiff's remarks/homilies except those excerpts in newspapers and on TV? Come on. If you just want to slam him and Catholics, at least be honest and say you find nothing of value in the Pope or the religion.

The three survivors of clergy sex abuse who came forward for interviews unanimously praised the Pope for meeting with them, and seemed hopeful and confident he would not let this issue slide. You cut McDaid's full quote. You forgot to include the part where he said he touched the pope's heart and felt the pope understood, and would do more to solve the problem.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't most of the child abuse cases of a HOMOSEXUAL not HETEROSEXUAL nature? So what's wrong with the seminaries screening out gays - unless they make a convincing case that they will keep a vow of celibacy.

Oh and don't forget to keep this column...for future use...maybe around Christmas.

"Theologies of liberation" is code for "how can I change the bible to make it more convenient for me".
To call the condemnation of perverted sexual acts homophobia is a pathetic attempt to change bible teachings. I can imagine if the Catholic Church tried to screen homosexual pedophiles they would have even more lawsuits from the ACLU. I noticed that Rev brooks particular avoided the term homosexual pedophiles. All of the problems that were in the news for the past umpteen years have been a homosexual pedophile problem. Could Rev Brooks be homosexual pedophile phobic? All people are welcome at any church I've ever attended but let's not dumb down the Word for convenience. I'm still looking for that passage in the Bible that states, "If my commandments or words seem too difficult then just forget them for after all can't we just all get a long and remember it’s all about you."

www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker for daily verified coverage on why the LYING and totally corrupt, serial, mutiple decades, pedophile enabling, cardinals and bishops, cannot be trusted at all.

The only WAY this gets resolved is through 1.1+ Billion Global Laity, who provide 100% of all My Church's revenue, to STOP DONATING 'en-masse', until the miter and red hats enablers are each removed from office (hundreds of them), canonically each censored, and each placed under life house arrest, or alternatively, each irrevocably EXCOMMUNICATED.

As St. James once asked: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

The answer is YES, if each of you STOP DONATING, to force Rome's hand in removing evil men like Mahony, Law, O'Malley, Egan, MacCormack, Hubbard, McCarrick, Brown, Barnes, Brom, McGrath, Cummins, Ryan, Curry, Soto, Weigland, Walsh, Steinbock, Dolan, Burke, Pilla, Hughes, Quinn, Malone, George, Hummes, Pell, Rivera, Lennon, Moeddel, Grahman, Chaput, O'Brien, Vlanzy, Wulfstan, Sklba, Lynch, Giovannini, Skystad, Leveda, and a very long list, costing the laity, in America alone, at least $2.8 Billion Dollars, with no end in sight, many pedophiles still in active secular minsitries and religious orders, and child endangerment still widely pervasive.

Remember 99% of all these red hat and miter pedophile enablers were John Paul II appointees, and why he is presently not here in Heaven; though Albino Lucani (JP I and poisoned by Vatican Bank Mobsters) is.

Go With Us (The Holy Trinity), But Keep Your Wallets Zipped!

Deliver All The Faithful From This Overt & Ongoing Curia EVIL!

Yeshua ben Yosef
(aka Jesus, step-son of Joseph)

PS - There are overt 80 empirical published books on the subject at www.amazon.com, of for FREE at your local public libraries, and I, Your Lord & Savior, recommend the ones by Leon Podles and Fr. Thomas Doyle, OP (saints in the making).

So much for celibacy amongst priests:

"A study of Swiss priests published on May 12, 2003, revealed that 50% of that clergy had mistresses. Father Victor Kotze, a South African sociologist conducted a survey of the priests in his country (1991) and found that 45% had been sexually active during the previous two year period.

Pepe Rodriguez published his book length study of the sexual life of clergy in Spain (La Vida sexual del Clero 1995). He concluded that among practicing priests 95% masturbate; 7% are sexually involved with minors and 26% have "attachments to minors;" 60% have sexual relations, 20% have homosexual relations.

He further refined the figures of 354 priests who were having sexual relations:

53% of these were having sex with adult women, 21% with adult men, 14% were sexually active with minor boys and 12% with minor girls. Although Rodriguez' book caused a monumental debate no one has challenged the reality of his numbers.

My 25 year ethnographic study of celibacy published in 1990 had drawn comparable conclusions about the celibate/sexual activity of Catholic priests in America. I stand by my findings that at any one time 50% of American clergy are sexually active. When in 1994 a BBC television reporter faced Cardinal Jose Sanchez, Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy at the Vatican with those and other figures from the study, the Cardinal's response was, "I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of those figures.""

Did anyone never notice that most poor third world countries have either an Catholic or Muslin population, corruption as a way of life, and high breeding rates. Of course, the Catholic church realizes many of the children will starve or die from childhood disease but as long as they are Catholic that is OK, enough will survive to make more Catholics. In the USA the Catholic church is making a come back. Its an ideal plan let the good Catholics Latinos pour across our open borders and Breed like Rabbits while forcing American tax payers to provide for them, that is why the Pope spoke about taking care of Immigrants and all Catholic Churches are for breaking the law and encourage Illegal Aliens and open Borders! When the next president gives the 20 to 30 million mostly uneducated Illegal Aliens citizenship alone with chain migration there will be 100,s of millions of new fast breeding, educating hating, criminally inclined , welfare loving citizens and the Nation will soon join the Third World as they breed us into poverty. But the Democrat Politicians will have the welfare votes and further their Socialist Agenda, the Republican Politicians an unlimited supply of cheap labor and the Church more millions of good docile Catholics to preach their dogma to, past the collection plate, and lots of children for the priests to play with. The only losers are current American Citizens and either Party or the Catholic church gives a damn about them!

You do know the origin of the celibate priesthood, don't you? It has absolutely no basis whatsoever in scripture- the problem was that as the church grew in wealth and power, and the second (and third, and so on) sons of wealthy and powerful men entered the church as a career, lacking inheritances, if they married and had children of their own, they would be able to pass on titles and land and wealth to their children passing it out of church control. So the origins of this problem are church greed. The funny thing is that the Catholic church has always attracted gay men into the priesthood - I once talked to a priest who had spent time working in Rome, and he said that perhaps HALF of the priests working in and around the Vatican are themselves gay. There is much less of a problem with child molestation there because there is a more open attitude, albeit very quiet, toward tolerance of gay priests.

"Homosexuality, whether male or female, IS Deviant and should not be tolerated by ANY member coming in contact with children or those studying to become ministers of God, i.e. nunneries and semanaries included."

"A climate that tolerated homosexuality was the prime reason for this outbreak of abuse."

"With all due respect homosexuality is deviance and I would never have entrusted any of my three sons to a homosexual, whether in the Boy Scouts or any other organization where boys gather in groups. When I served in the US Army there were homosexuals among us but we knew who they were and we were adults and able to deal with them and their problem. But children need protection."

--------

Above are just a few of the posts which seem to "bash" homosexuality. Yet many here rightly complain when the bashing is directed towards Catholics or the Church. Can someone please explain to me why bashing someones religion is rightly considered intolerance and prejudice but the same does not apply to bashing one's sexual orientation?

This note from Mainline Protestant is poorly informed, slanted and biased, and again pushes all the PC myths with innuendo and ungrounded implication. She has her anti-Catholic agenda and seems oblivious to facts. Ms. Mainline Protestant claims the Church as "has targeted gay men with no evidence." "Targeted"? That's a loaded and inappropriate term. Further, if she had read the investigation done by the John Jay school, it would be clear to hear that there is indeed evidence, which shows that the overwhelming majority of the problem priests were homosexuals. That's not to say they are the only source of trouble, but they are a good place to start. and much of the secrecy that she laments has resulted solely from the fact that actively gay priests have looked out for one another.

Sadly she scews facts, uses unnamed sources, and unfounded claims. The 2005 document from the Vatican certainly does not say that homosexuality is caused by biological factors, which may have an effect, but study after study shows strong environmental correlations as well. She is either ignorant of the actual text of the letter, or purposefully misrepresenting it.

She claims that "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have responded to this teaching by noting that child sexual abuse by priests comes not from homosexuality per se, but from an immature sexual identity compounded by the frustrations of celibacy and the climate of secrecy in the church about sex." Obviously no one has ever said that pedophilia is caused by homosexuality, but her statement is hogwash. No credible psychologists claim that a man is more inclined toward pedophilia because of some alleged "cimate of secrecy"--which is a myth in itself. Further, is the contention that if molesters were invited to feel good about being molesters, and invited to do it openly instead of in secret, that there would be LESS molestation?

The fact is, the Church views homosexual acts as wrong--which is her real beef with the Church, obviously--and therefore any man engaging in such activity in the role of a cleric in the church is hardly going to feel comfortable being open about that. the secrecy comes from the violation of the rule by the violator; her answer is to chuck the rule. It's not going to happen.

Her view of the 2005 letter is twisted. The letter simply suggests that men who are attracted to men and prone to act on that attraction are perhaps not best suited to a profession that has them living only among men and professing a set of vows that says that acting on their attraction to those men is wrong. In the same way, a heterosexual male who finds that he may be prone to infidelity should not live in a college dorm of young women. There are plenty of other churches or professions to which a gay man is better suited. Her charge that this letter is some effort to impose secrecy and a "climate" that will make for more pedophilia is completely nuts.

This woman simply disagrees vehemently with the Church's teaching on homosexuality, fidelity, and chastity--see her other writings. She is a woman of her times, a product of the 60's and 70's who thinks that sexual liberation in religious communities will solve the problems of people misbehaving in that area of sex. Instead of just saying that, she makes the absurd, round-about claim that the Church's teaching that homosexuality and pedophilia are wrong is what causes the "climate of secrecy" which in turn causes homosexuality and pedophilia. That is ridiculous, and perhaps even dishonest on her part.

What she fails to mention is the huge problems that the more liberal churches have had in the same area. The Episcopalians, who allow priests to marry and are lately so open as to make an adulterous gay man a bishop, and presumably do not have the "climate of secrecy" that she laments in the Catholic Church, have had major scandals, and on a relative comparison the Episcopalian church doesn't look very good. (There 30 times more Catholics than Episcopalians in the US, so on absolute numbers, the Catholic priests look much worse, but not on a relative basis.)

The fact is, if Ms. Thistlewaite, who claims to teach "contextual theologies of liberation," had a bit more facility with more traditional theology, she might understand that sin is not caused by letters from the Vatican or by "secrecy" or by teachings that sin is sin.

Wow.

The amount of hatred, on both sides, tells me that not only will there be no resolution to the possible future abuses, there will be no agreement as to why the past ones happened in the first place.

Homosexuality, whether male or female, IS Deviant and should not be tolerated by ANY member coming in contact with children or those studying to become ministers of God, i.e. nunneries and semanaries included.

What nonsense. Homosexual men have long desired young boys. Young girls are not targeted by priests in the numbers that young boys are. A climate that tolerated homosexuality was the prime reason for this outbreak of abuse.

Worth repeating and remembering:

The Current Crises (pl) in the Catholic Church--

The inappropriate conduct of many priests, the emotional stress on the victims and the resultant billion dollars in lawsuits.

The lack of talent in the priesthood.

The lack of Vatican response to the historic Jesus movement.

The Church's continuing cling to original sin and the resulting subsets of crazy ideas like limbo.

The denial of priesthood to women.

The restriction of priesthood to single men (unless you are former Episcopalian priests),

And the continued chain of Vatican "leadership" by old European white men.