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To: Mrs. Don-o
The Church's legitimate interest in a compassionate approach, + loyalty to brother priests, + avoiding "re-traumatizing" the victims, was twisted into this policy of clerical offenders being sent off for treatment, paralleling the alcoholic-priest model.

Sorry, but I can't agree. It's not a compassionate approach if evey word coming out of your mouth is a lie. The church had ZERO intentions of making sure the priests never did it again. They supoposedly threw some head shrinkers at them, personally I think they just had other priests tell them, "what they did was wrong in God's eyes and don't do it again". That is not a psychological therapy, that is trying to guilt someone into doing the right thing. They already knew it was wrong and chose to do it anyway. So the church then just sends them to prey on other children in a new parrish.

I believe that your list of reasons assumes the church itself was concerned about the victims. I contend that is patently false since they let sexual preditors loose on a new parrish and didnt' follow up on the priests AT ALL. Compassion for victims should include NOT allowing the horrible act to happen to another person.

In fact, I know of a priest in my home town diocese who, prior to our area, molested at least on prior parrish. He was was then sent to THREE other parrishes since the one in my area. A FOUR TIME repeat molester, adn the church just sent him off to another parrish to do it all over again.

77 posted on 07/18/2007 7:04:23 AM PDT by SengirV
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To: SengirV
I don't for one second doubt that all you wrote is true. I'm just saying it wasn't like that in every religious order, in every diocese, in every case.

I personally know of situations in my childhood diocese of Erie, PA where the "therapeutic" model reigned supreme: a genuine attempt to help the youths who had been molested, but based on the wrong-headed idea that "treatment" or "counseling" was the key to everybody (abuser and abused) being able to make a "new beginning."

78 posted on 07/18/2007 7:25:29 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o (Just sayin')
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