I know this is bad news at a time when the Church doesn't really need bad news.
I err on the side of The Church and wonder how many of the accusations are accurate and how many are 'remembered' using suggestive psychological tactics.
I have a friend who was actually beaten by an elderly Sister who should have been in a retirement home but was teaching first graders in NYC some 64 years ago. My friend says "surely I could sue The Church, but what would that gain? It would only hurt The Church I love and would not bring me the closure that forgiveness has brought."
Yes, sexual abuse is different from being black and blue with a swollen face and barely being able to see. If it were my child who was sexually abused, I'd be on death row now.
My concern is that it's too 'easy' for a child to yell 'sexual abuse' just to get back at someone. Case in point (altho' not a Priest), a child in a neighboring County was taken in by a school vice-principal and his family after being tossed out by her own family for promiscuity. Things went well for a few months and then the girl (around 15 years old) began making moves on the vice-principal whenever his wife wasn't around. He talked to some mutual friends and they advised him that from that time on, the child never be alone with the vice-principal. He wouldn't drive her to school any longer, so she had to take the bus. He made sure there was always a third party with him when he took the girl to club meetings, etc. Well, the girl got upset at being 'spurned' by 'the man she loved' and decided that the best way to "get back" at him was to yell "rape." She did and ruined this man's career. There was NO physical proof, only the lies of a conniving cherub-faced 15 year old girl. And guess who the jury believed?
I'm just saying it's hard to prove innocence when faced with a child accusing an adult of sexual misbehavior when there is no physical evidence either way.
I pray for The Church and The Priests who are dedicated and chaste.
May God have mercy on the souls of those priests who are not chaste.
Thank you for this reminder. I too pray each night for ALL 'servants of our Lord' - the good, the bad and the ugly. I also pray for those catholics who are on the front lines fighting liturgical abuses in their respective parishes, along with the 'sheeples' who have been led astray by misguided shepherds.
You make an astute observation. Quite possibly, there will be some suits thrown out; however, this is the Los Angeles Diocese. Over the past few years, many of us in this forum have been following events in LA. We are now called to pray for all the catholics in that diocese, as they embark on what will surely be a difficult trial.