[MaskedMan]

What parents in their right mind would let a 12 year old go to the beach with a Priest? - Holy man or not, what an odd outing, anyway....especially with what's been going on lately....Not trying to deflect blame from the real criminal here, but a little common sense goes a LONG way!

[Aliska]

You got me on that one. Note that he told his mother right away. That tells me that he was aware of some of the things in the news lately. Most of the past victims never told anyone until much later.

Typical mo. Ingratiate yourself with the family and get them to trust you.

Now it will be the kid's word against the priest. How that will play out is anybody's guess.

[MissAmericanPie]

Bears repeating. Common sense a rare commodity these days.

[SkyPilot]

What parents in their right mind would let a 12 year old go to the beach with a Priest?

When I was a young boy, I had thought of going into the priesthood. My parents thought it was wonderful. I traveled with a very trusted priest, Father Murphy, who later died of cancer at a young age. He was a good man, and did nothing wrong himself or out of the ordinary.

We went to a seminary in Upstate New York, near Ogdensburg, for the weekend.

I don't want to get into the details here, but what I witnessed and experienced there in one weekend shocked me beyond anything I could have imagined. Again, not by Father Murphy, but by some of the staff and students there.

It forever put to rest my thoughts about entering the priesthood.

[yendu bwam]

What parents in their right mind would let a 12 year old go to the beach with a Priest? - Holy man or not, what an odd outing, anyway....especially with what's been going on lately....

You know what's really sad? In the old days, there is no one you would have trusted more. A priest, one assumed, would be the man most pushed internally to live a completely moral Christian life - someone who would move all things in his path to protect your child, both physically and spiritually. Today, you're right. You'd have to be crazy to allow your kid to be alone with a priest. The priesthood has been IMMENSELY devalued - and probably for the rest of my life. It will take years and decades before priests even have the opportunity of redeeming people's trust. But that's only if they truly address the underlying problems in the Church. It's not even apparent that they intend to do so. Priests today are seen, on average, at a much lower place morally than they were meant to be. It's really up to them to try, over time, to reclaim their moral standing and trust. They have an uphill battle. Nobody should be more intolerant of what's described in this article than they.

[AlGone2001]

Not trying to deflect blame from the real criminal here, but a little common sense goes a LONG way!

---

I agree with you to some extent. I am a children's pastor. I work primarily with kids from 7-12.

On occasion, I work exclusively with the 10-12 year olds.

As most know, church attendance is .... um... suspect during the Summer months.

I have rules about student-to-teacher ratios.

1. There must be at least one female teacher in the 4-6 year old classroom.
2. I refuse to work with any classroom with less than three students.  If that happens, I combine two age groups.
3. I must have at least one boy and one girl in the classroom.  I move the children to another classroom if that objective is not met.
4. I never allow a boy and a girl over 10-years of age to go to the restroom at the same time.

A little wisdom and common sense goes a long way.