“He’s already apologized for that statement - said something about not being able to express himself properly. I think that was over a week ago.”
Excusing child molestation cannot be absolved with an “I’m sorry”.
In doing so you are excusing making excuses for child molestation.
Legitimate questions of “Did this guy molest anyone” can be raised, and at the very least should be investigated by those who actually care about the issue and identifying victims of this attitude, whatever the reason for it being expressed.
One glance at his bio should tellyou all you need to know and all you should know for making a statement on this thread.
I suggest being careful. When you are old and infirm, you’ll want others to take care to respect you and not to attack you, especially if, in your lifetime, you do one tenth of what Fr. Groeschel has done for the needy, the unborn, and the culture, has done in his.
“Excusing child molestation cannot be absolved with an “I’m sorry”.”
I’m just sick to death of that kind of crap. There are so many false-flag posters on FR now that it’s hardly better than DU.
His remarks in no way sought to excuse child molestation—not by any stretch of the imagination.
I’ll go further: no one of normal intelligence could honestly think they did.
I have six children. I would not hesitate to protect them or anyone else’s children from a molester using...ahem...the minimum amount of force necessary.
This does not mean that I am willing to ignore or deny *any* part of the truth. If the truth is that a priest was too weak, too messed up, too whatever to resist a persistent teenager, then that is the truth.
That particular truth does not excuse child molestation. However, the ages he mentioned—14, 16, 18—are post-pubescent, and so would be cases of statutory rape, not child molestation.
Absolutely. Saying that the child was responsible for seducing them is a classic defense from a child molestor. Anyone who says that raises a huge red flag. I guess he could be repeating what he's heard from other molestors trying to defend themselves.