Psychatrist Joins Bishops Panel against Wishes of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

The Washington Times ^ | 8/8/02 | Larry Witham

[Dr. Scarpetta]

The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church has raised the specter of a new round of emotional debates on repressed memories, which some people claimed to have "recovered" when making abuse charges.

One of the members of the U.S. bishops panel to police the abuse problem is a well-known critic of therapists who claim to have evoked recovered memories, suggesting the bishops are preparing for this debate.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

"Of all the thousands of therapists and professionals the bishops could have chosen, it's disturbing that they picked only McHugh," said David Clohessy, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

[Dr. Scarpetta]

SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, whose other claims of abuse have been stymied by the bishops for years, backed the accusers in those cases.

"I'm worried victims will throw in the towel with Dr. McHugh on the panel," David Clohessy, president of SNAP said yesterday.

[SoothingDave]

I'm worried victims will throw in the towel with Dr. McHugh on the panel

The chances of these victims just "giving up" and "going away" are slim and none.

SD

[maryz]

But critics say such memories must stand up to scrutiny, considering that the men who made accusations against Chicago Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and Iowa Bishop Gerald F. O'Keefe in 1993 later recanted after citing repressed memory.

I don't recall anything about "repressed" memory in the Bernadin case; I thought the guy dropped out of the suit because he wasn't sure he could trust his memory -- not the same thing IMO. (O'Keefe I never heard of.)

SNAP seems inclined to accept any accusation that comes along the pike, whether credible or not. Perhaps understandable in light of their experiences, but still not fair.

That whole recovered memory "therapy" seems to be quite dangerous -- as I understand it, it's all too easy for a therapist to create a "memory" of something that never happened.