Vatican to publish report on scientific aspects of clergy sexual abuse

The Boston Globe ^ | February 20, 2004 | Frances D'Emilio

[american colleen]

VATICAN CITY (AP) The Vatican will soon publish a report about sexual abuse by clergy that draws heavily on scientific opinion, including experts skeptical about removing from the ministry any priest who has molested a child, a psychologist who helped edit the report said.

[american colleen]

Hope this isn't a repost - I couldn't find it on FReerepublic anywhere but I coulda missed it.

[american colleen]

FYI.

[american colleen]

''If I kick this fellow out of the church and he loses his job, his income, his health benefits and all of his friends ... with no other skills to get a job, that's not the conditions'' to ensure a former priest won't commit more abuse, Marshall said. ''They won't get treatment.''

Can't let them roam around free to act on their intrinsically disordered whims. Why not establish monastaries for those who were ordained by the Church - in other words, take responsibility for those the Church has in the past deemed worthy of the priesthood. "For better or for worse" - the priesthood is akin to marriage.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Won't "get treatment"??? He'll be in jail, won't he?

What planet are these people from???

[OLD REGGIE]

Can't let them roam around free to act on their intrinsically disordered whims. Why not establish monastaries for those who were ordained by the Church - in other words, take responsibility for those the Church has in the past deemed worthy of the priesthood. "For better or for worse" - the priesthood is akin to marriage.

Absoloutely! The Church is responsible for these men as long as they are still on this earth. You can't just "kick them out" and wash your hands of the whole affair.

Once again I agree with you my child. ;-)

[livius]

This is so nauseating. Once upon a time, the Church used to have monastic jails designed just for folks like this. Life was not fun, and they got to spend a few weeks, months, years or even their whole lives eating virtually nothing, doing physical labor and praying. I once met a European priest who had been sent to one, just for a few weeks, and he said it made a secular jail look like a vacation.

Now, of course, we have things like a diocese buying a nice cushy home for the likes of (former bishop and sex offender) Ryan.

[american colleen]

I don't think we are so far apart on a lot of things!

[american colleen]

LOL! True. Although I'd rather have them in the mostly empty monastaries supervised by any bishop that has had to step down. Good enough for all parties concerned. We have to pay for it one way or another and it is the Church's responsibility if the Church deemed them "ordainable" at some time in the past. I would think that the future of the seminaries would be more rosy if the vocations directors had to deal with this scenerio. S/He would be much more stringent in admitting men to the seminary.

[american colleen]

Now, of course, we have things like a diocese buying a nice cushy home for the likes of (former bishop and sex offender) Ryan.

That is nauseating, I had no idea. I would be up in arms if that was my diocese. Funny how the "peace and social justice" money beggers/guilt mongers make the decision to buy a nice cushy home for a sex offending bishop instead of paying tuition for underprivileged children or stocking the food pantry or helping a guy out when he's laid off and can't buy groceries. Hypocrites.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Considering the amount of funds being shelled out already for this nonsense, they ought to build a monastery prison (in the middle of a desert somewhere) far from five-star restaurants, bars, clubs,etc.

[livius]

For the kind of money they're spending, they could build a nationwide chain of monastery prisons (Motel 6 Monastic Penitenciarios).

[Desdemona]

they ought to build a monastery prison (in the middle of a desert somewhere) far from five-star restaurants, bars, clubs,etc.

Maybe on an island in the middle of shark infested waters.

I thought the monastery idea was a great one all along.

[american colleen]

And we'll leave the light on for you!

[livius]

But it goes off at 7:00 p.m. and comes on again at 3:00 a.m....

[sockmonkey]

Among the issues on the agenda was how molesters might be rehabilitated.

Isn't the "might be" what gave many of these folks free reign for these past decades?
In the past I have worked with/for Psychiatrists and Psychologists and most of them are of the opinion that child molestors can't be rehabilitated-contained, perhaps, but if given the opportunity to molest a child, they will.

[tiki]

The monastaries would have to be established just for offenders because the established ones don't want them and won't take them. Our former priest has tried to get into many and they refuse him because of his past.

[livius]

All joking aside, they actually used to have monastic penitenciaries. I doubt that they do anymore, though. They were for punishment - and penance.

[american colleen]

Great point. I also have read that child molesters cannot be rehabbed. However, given the evidence that 90% of the abuse victims were boys and 80% of those boys were between the ages of 12 and 17, are we talking about homosexual acts or pedophelia (which can't be rehabilitated)? --- info extrapolated from the leaked figures from the John Jay report.

[american colleen]

There are probably enough empty monastaries or convents (I know for sure about empty convents) to house these guys. I would think the offender you know couldn't get in because what normal man would want a sex offender living amongst them? OTOH, he could get in if the (former) monastary/convent was expressly for offenders.

[american colleen]

LOL!

Nothing like being rehabbed by vespers in a cold chapel in the wee hours of the morning. Followed by a nice gruel for breakfast.