Stories in the news over the past year have shown the horrific reality of something Catholics learned when the clergy sexual-abuse crisis rocked the Church in the United States — the sexual abuse of children is a much larger problem than most people realize, one that has destroyed countless innocent lives and, sadly, does not receive the attention it deserves until a "big name" is involved.
One out of four females and one out of six males are abused before they reach the age of 18.
Society still has not come fully to terms with the sweeping scope of this problem and the reality that so many people are living with the pain it has caused.
Victims of abuse — from within their churches, their schools and even their families — carry heavy burdens of crippling shame. This sometimes results in "self-treatment" to deaden the pain with drugs and alcohol. There can be difficulties with relationships, trusting others or managing anger.
Sadly, many lose their faith in God and even end their own lives.
The destructive impact abuse has on the lives of victims is particularly tragic because the shame is not the victim’s; the real burden of shame belongs to the adult offender.
Adults are responsible for their own behavior, and adults are responsible as well for protecting children.
As the Catholic Church seeks to do a better job of protecting children, it has studied its own painful chapter and learned about predators and the behavior of those who would abuse.
Child sexual-abuse perpetrators go to great lengths to gain the confidence and trust of children, families and communities. They know that parents and others will resist allowing their children to be with adults they perceive as "creepy."
Offenders depend on a grooming process that gives them access to children, lulls responsible adults into compliancy, and attempts to make the victim feel complicit in the abuse. This keeps victims confused and silent and the perpetrators’ reputations intact.
Most victims are abused by someone they thought they could trust. Child sexual abuse is a violation of that trust, made all the more heinous when a member of the clergy perpetrates it.
The "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," adopted by the U.S. bishops in 2002, calls on the Church to reach out to victims with compassion and address the psychological and spiritual problems they may have.
Today, all dioceses have victim-assistance coordinators. In 2011, the U.S. Church spent $6,142,810 on therapy for victims of abuse. We know that victims are not responsible for the abuse.
Making sure that the child-protection policies of an organization are followed is critical. Policies sitting on a shelf protect no one.
The Church continues to learn a painful lesson, and all society can benefit. The sexual exploitation of minors is not only a problem of Catholic clergy. It touches every organization that provides services to children.
It is up to all of these institutions to teach caring adults how to recognize the signs of a grooming process, so the abuse can be stopped before it happens.
So many innocent lives have been destroyed. With vigilance and proper understanding, all of society can work together to eradicate this evil.
Bishop R. Daniel Conlon is the bishop of Joliet, Ill., and
chairman of the Committee on Child and Youth Protection
of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
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Thank you, so much, for this article Bishop Conlon.
This is a simple, humble statement of how we should all view the issue of child sexual abuse. It brought to mind, in contrast, the unfortunate remarks of Father Groeschel, who, no matter what the state of his mind in other regards, clearly believes what he said. His attitude is the one that enabled the abuse to occur and to continue for so many years.
Thank you, Bishop Conlon, for your statement and for your service to our Lord.
Nice article, but the Church still has a long way to go in implementing the Charter. Some dioceses completely ignore the recommendations of the Charter which, as you say, does absolutely no good as a policy if it sits on a shelf. That is the same thing I used to say when I facilitated Virtus programs.
When people continue to support priests even after credible allegations of sexual abuse it seems they have missed the lesson on characteristics of pedophiles and the grooming process. I facilitated the Virtus program many times and the videos always made me very sad and sick. The Catholic church is very two faced in its approach to “helping victims” when they say how horrible abuse is and then spend millions fighting any laws that would eliminate statutes of limitation so victims who become aware of the damage the abuse has caused them, are unable to bring charges against their abusers. Most of all, enablers are largely untouched. When the Church demands resignation of or simply removes the many bishops who enabled the continuance of pedophilia, and the numbers are very significant, then maybe we can believe the Church takes the abuse of children seriously. Until then, the Pope and the bishops’ response are nothing but “tinkling brass”.
“Child sexual-abuse perpetrators go to great lengths to gain the confidence and trust of children, families and communities,” writes Bishop Conlon.
Alas, in the clerical abuse scandals, perpetrators also “went to great lengths to gain the confidence and trust”—of their bishops.
Many of whom then covered up for them for years.
“The real burden of shame belongs to the adult offender,” writes Bishop Conlon. Your Excellency, does that include those bishops—dozens of them, at least, perhaps even a majority—who enabled those abusers?
Perhaps that is why Bishop Conlon told a meeting of diocesan child safety directors that “our credibility on the subject of child abuse is shredded.” He was speaking specifically of our bishops, who “are gravely weakened and in need of assistance.”
For ten years our bishops have told us that “the scandals are behind us.” Bishop Conlon is telling us that no, they aren’t.
Our bishops need our prayers, and the faithful deserve the truth.
These are all very pretty words that sound like they were taken directly from victim/survivor advocacy groups. Here’s the problem: You made the statement that a little over 6 million was spent on therapy for victims in 2011. How much was spent and is continuing to be spent on defense attorneys and your predators. Victims/survivors and their families need more than just therapy, in fact, therapy leads us to the conclusion that it is the traditional extreme right hierarchical thinking that has caused the problem to begin with. So, what needs to be done, are our laws fixed to create an equal arena, in the courtroom, for those that make it to that level of recovery. Victims/survivors and their families also neeed appropriate reconstructive compensation for the damages they incurred. The reality being, a lifetime of damages. So when you add up all these factors, a few bucks for some counseling doesn’t cut it. Who are you trying to fool? PLEASE MASSES: EDUCATE YOURSELVES THOUGHLY ON THIS BEFORE BEING GULLIABLE. IF YOU DON’T, YOUR PLAYING RIGHT INTO HIEARCHICAL PROPOGANDA AND GOD HELP YOU IF IT HAPPENS TO YOU OR YOUR FAMILY.
There is an excellent article on the subject in the September 24 New Yorker by Malcolm Gladwell.
As a Catholic physician who has met many who have been sexually abused by priests, and as one who was sexually assaulted myself when I was a young doctor in Dublin, Ireland, I would like to thank Bishop Conlon for speaking out about the scandal of clergy sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
Clergy sexual abuse and the betrayal of trust by priests and hierarchy can cause lifelong damage in the lives of those who were abused, especially if they were children when the abuse occurred. As Bishop Conlon rightly says,
“Sadly, many lose their faith in God and even end their own lives.”
I believe that it is important for the police to be involved in every case from the very beginning, because sexual abuse is a criminal matter, which needs police investigation.
Recently, I was distressed to read that Bishop Conlon was planning to allow a known predator priest back into active ministry. I am grateful to know that Bishop Conlon has had the courage to reverse that decision.
I do not understand why the predator priest is still in the priesthood. What does zero tolerance mean to the American hierarchy anyway???
Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Wheaton, Illinois
I find this all very interesting by an organization that allowed hundreds of thousands of incidents of child abuse to occur with impunity. The current and previous popes knew. Cardinal Law ran one of the largest child abuse rings in this country and should be in prison for life, yet he was rewarded with a plush job for life. And you thinks some people may have lost faith in the Church? Maybe they found faith in God and left the Church behind to die in its own sinfulness and filth.
As a Catholic physician who has met many who have been sexually abused by priests, and as one who was sexually assaulted myself when I was a young doctor in Dublin, I thank Bishop Conlon for having the courage to reverse his decision on a priest with a history of a credible abuse of a 14 year old male child in the past. I ask why is the priest still in the priesthood. Do the American bishops follow their own promise to have zero tolerance for the sexual abuse of children?
Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Wheaton, Illinois
According to the John Jay Report, over 60% of American Bishops, when confronted with this evil, chose a campaign of lies, cover-ups and intimidation. They proved themselves more than willing to sacrifice other people’s children to their idol: the reputations of priests. When, or rather IF, a Bishop is ever willing to even acknowledge that evil, then and only then will he have something worth listening to.
Bishop Conlon’s article on clergy sexual abuse crisis is an excellent analysis of how much further we need to go, as a Church, in doing all we can to protect children, pre-pubescent or pediophilia or post-pubescent or ediophilia or homosexuality which accounts for the vast majority convictions of known clergy sexual abuse, priests and deacons, of mostly males as well as some females. While the American Church has done perhaps more than any other organization in the secular world to “protect children” that is not the Church’s primary focus unless we truly accept that all people, regardless of age, are the children of God. What we have failed to mention and make atonement for is the fact that sexual abuse by clergy is not only pyschologically heinous but sin against God, against the promises and vows of celibacy and the practice of purity. While it is true that most sexual abuse takes place among family members, those entrusted with the Mysteries of Christ and His Church have a greater moral and spiritual responsibility to promote a life of Grace over a life of sin. As a Church, We have spent billions of dollars on proper counselling for parents and their children, lawyers and the like but where have we as an American Church held a nationwide service of atonement and reparation in a National Cathedral or all Cathedrals in every diocese? Right now we have a convicted Bishop in Kansas City, Mo. living on probation, along with his diocese, for two years for failing to report for six months the fact that he and others on his staff knew of a priest’s collection of hundreds of pictures of pre-pubescent naked little girls. The priest has already admiited his criminal guilt. How can any cleric read St. Augustines challenge and admonition to pastors,etc and not realize the awesome responsibilitie we have to Christ Jesus and our Father as His ordained servants? On top of that we have the reality of the fact that most of our Bishops have not enforced the “mandatum” from Ex Corde Ecclesiae, promulagated by Blessed John Paul II to have our college professors sign an oath to teach only orthodox matters of Faith and Morals. (See Cardinal Newman Society for latest report). Today, 105 Catholic colleges allow gay and lesbian clubs or societies to operate on campus promoting non-Catholic Christian morals. Retired Bishop Martino of Scranton, Pa calls it “a terrible crisis” since most of our Catholic college students are in favor of same sex marriages and sex outside of marriage. If these Institutions for future leaders, some even clergy, are not part of the first line defense of the Catholic Faith and Morals, how can we give example and motivation to the rest of society on any area of sexual morality. A blatant example is the Archdiocesan University, Seton Hall, of Newwark, N.J. offering a course taught by an assistant gay professoor on homosexuality as an alternalte lifestyle including same sex marriages. What we really need is all Catholic Universities and Seminaries to make it mandatory to teach Blessed John Paul II “Theology of the Body” which can also be taught in High School. The whole Christian Community needs to be refreshed in what St. Paul means when he calls us “Temples of the Holy Spirit…fellow citizens of the saints.”
There will never really be closure for the victims untill all of those responsible for these crimes have been held accountable. That means the bishops, curial officials and popes who ignored it, enabled it and covered it up.
As a point of clarity, charges against the Kansas City - St. Joseph diocese were dropped, and the bishop was convicted of one of two counts. Still, that is one count too many.
As another point of clarity, most of the abused are adolescent girls. We just hear most about the boys. It is the most sensational.
I was one of those girls. Confused. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Humiliated. I couldn’t understand why this celibate priest was doing what he was. He was beloved in the community and internationally. He was very convincing, even to my sister and I. To this day, we have said that if we told anyone in our home community, they would NEVER believe that he could do such a thing. But he did, and it continued for a very long time. The Catholic Church is responsible for my healing. Priests helped me see the truth of the entire situation and one in particular still works with me. Therapy, anti-depressants and all the rest are part of my life. I am convinced that the pain from the abuse will be with me forever. For.EV.er. It is intense. It caused me to consider suicide, but between my spiritual director and therapist, they helped give me hope. GOD’S GRACE HAS SAVED ME, and He gave it to me through the Church - through the sacraments, her priests, a bishop, through the religious order to which he belonged, through the safe environment programs which were responsible for helping me see things for what they were. This is important to note: blaming helps no one. Working for change WITH THEM does. I’m doing it, and so can you. TO YOU VICTIMS: **Tell someone you trust** about the abuse. That will open the doors to freedom. To those who know victims: LOVE THEM, believe them, assure them they are not to be blamed, walk with them, and most of all, NEVER tell them to “get over it”. I don’t think there can EVER be closure, no matter what is done. They will get over it when they are able. Unless you’ve been there, done that, you cannot possibly understand, but you can love them. God bless.
I applaud this bishop for speaking out. Catholics must face what has happened in our church, and not look the other way ever again. The loss of trust is too great. Trust is earned, it cannot be demanded.
While the issue of children being safe around clergy is a given, everyone should be safe around clergy: priests, bishops and cardinals. Other men, other clergy and lay men, teenage boys and girls, and women. All should be safe.
Most of the stories in the news recently are about priests (& one bishop in Los Angeles, Bishop Zavala) that fathered a child - or children. Yet, these men are not taking a paternal role in their children’s lives, or helping the mothers raise the children in their day to day lives. They are forced to resign ministry, only after their stories go into the newspaper. That is not acceptable. Bishop Conlon: please take note of this too.
I have a song about Priest abuse. Where can i send it?
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