Longtime Bronx Catholic School Priest Admits Sexually Abusing Children: Officials

NBC News ^ | 1/6/2015 | Ida Siegal

[Dr. Thorne]

A longtime Catholic school priest at a renowned New York City school has admitted to sexually abusing minors in the 1970s and 1980s, and local prosecutors are now investigating, authorities say.

Father Robert Harrison, a priest who taught for 26 years and coached basketball for more than 20 years at the all-boys Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, has been removed from the school and is barred from any sort of ministry as church and law enforcement officials investigate.

[vladimir998]

“Famous for it, evidently not, only the men of the Catholic leadership are famous for homosexuality.”

Again, since some of us do know of it, the real problem would seem to be with the knowledge level of those who don’t.

[terycarl]

won’t give up bashing the Catholic church, will you....pathetic

[RnMomof7]

You know this will be the same argument given as the sins are called out on judgement day.....”But I was not as bad as...” and Christ will say “I never knew you “

[ansel12]

LOL, I don’t think being widely known for something, or being famous for something, is based on whatever it is that you claim you know personally.

The Catholic leadership is widely known for it’s problems with male on male sex.

[terycarl]

I don’t think the Episcopalian priests are famous for homosexuality, are they?

no more so than any other protestant clergy...which have a much higher rate of molestation that do Catholic clergy. The reason that Catholics are pointed out more is that you can sue the archdiocese of New York rather than a local Episcopalian parish....can you spell DOLLARS???

[terycarl]

Probably is...But they are unqualified for the clergy..

OH NO, you're telling us that Jesus was married....?????.

[ansel12]

No, I think the Catholic leadership is identified with homosexuality, because they seem to swing that way so much.

When people hear ‘Catholic Priest and sex scandal’, their first thought is that he is gay, not that he ran off with the female organist.

[AbnSarge]

I think you mistake my argument.

I accuse members of my priesthood for some of the vilest actions possible.

I acknowledge that my clerical leadership failed miserably in their response.

I accept that my leadership has belatedly taken the strongest actions, and leads the clerical world now in the protection of the potential victims.

I only ask that before the critics from other denominations attack mine, they look within their own and acknowledge that theirs are not pure. This is not in any way a defense of what evil people did within my denomination.

I think there’s a parable about that somewhere...

[terycarl]

Did they check to see if you are a homo??? 'Normal' altar boys are recruited into queerdom by queer priests...Many of those altar boys grow up to be priests... It would be interesting to know how many of the homo priests were molested by older males while they were young...

It would be even more interesting to discover why the incidence of molestation of the young children is so much higher in the ranks of PROTESTANT CLERGY...amazing but true. You seem to have a one track mind when it comes to Catholicism...such a shame when you are wrong so often.

If a young man is molested by a Catholic priest...a horrible crime indeed, his family can file suit against the archdiocese where the priest is located....worth Millions and millions of dollars....if that same child were to be abused in your local protestant congregation, he could sue them....thousands of dollars at best....and the Catholic kid would make headlines, the protestant kid wouldn't even make page ten.....and everyone knows it.....sheesh.

[terycarl]

No, I think the Catholic leadership is identified with homosexuality, because they seem to swing that way so much. When people hear ‘Catholic Priest and sex scandal’, their first thought is that he is gay, not that he ran off with the female organist.

there are approximately 1,300,000,000 Catholics in the world...would you expect their leaders to sin in greater numbers than do the few thousand members of whatever denomination that you belong to???

[Ransomed]

Why do you think the married Anglican and Episcopalian clergy didn’t stop those groups from actually openly accepting gay clergy? I mean among Catholics, the ones now most in favour of ending the discipline of celibacy are also the ones invariably most in favour of homosexuals. Try to find one catholic who thinks homosexual priests are cool but also really digs the discipline of celibacy.

Freegards

[ansel12]

If I ever mention such an opinion, bring that question up.

[Kenny Bunk]

IF it had been possible to retain the married priests, I don't think things would have taken quite so bad a turn.

A good point taken.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

“Probably is...But they are unqualified for the clergy...”

Why?
They are heterosexual but took a vow of celibacy as a devotional practice. Why would they be unqualified for the clergy?

[vladimir998]

“LOL, I don’t think being widely known for something, or being famous for something, is based on whatever it is that you claim you know personally.”

I don’t think a person’s clear unfamiliarity with something makes his assertions about anything else any more reliable. Maybe you should read more.

“The Catholic leadership is widely known for it’s problems with male on male sex.”

Actually, no. The problem with the leadership has been its weakness in stopping homosexuality among the lower clergy. But no one expects someone who doesn’t know the obvious to be anymore knowledgeable about the real problems of the Catholic leadership than he isn’t about problems among Episcopal clergy. After all if someone can miss decades of news stories about ephebophilia among Episcopal clergy not much can be expected of him in a conversation on the same topic for something similar.

[ansel12]

Actually yes, when people hear ‘Catholic Priest and sex scandal’, their first thought is that he is gay, not that he ran off with the female organist.

[Iscool]

It would be even more interesting to discover why the incidence of molestation of the young children is so much higher in the ranks of PROTESTANT CLERGY...amazing but true. You seem to have a one track mind when it comes to Catholicism...such a shame when you are wrong so often.

Sorry...But when one priest molests 200 boys, it's one priest...One incident...Plus, your Catholic religion allows queer priests to function in your religion as long as they claim they are celibate (no fingers crossed please)...And even then, when they are found out to not be celibate, so what???

And then when they play with little boys to recruit them into queerdom, they are secretly shuffled all over the world to recruit more...

Your queer priests and bishops and cardinals and popes are an abomination to me and an abomination to God...

You pervert the words of God by allowing unmarried clergy into your clergy and you pervert the word of God by allowing queers to be your clergy...

[ronnietherocket3]

Normal heterosexual men with procreative and healthy sexual urges despite their mystical beliefs would be reluctant to enter a situation where those normal urges were not only proscribed but being in the very company of women would lead to suspicion.

Have you been reading a bit too much of this?

I also do not know of anyone condemning a priest for having been in the company of a woman and I am uncertain why one would (unless the priest and woman are kissing). I know a married priest in the Anglican Ordinariate (part of the RCC) who said that few to no priests in it want a married priesthood as it places too much strain on family life. He commented there are a few advantages, but for the most part it is a hard life.

It is by no means clear how this current crisis will be resolved.

By the Grace of Christ of course.

He said that about every five hundred years the Church goes through an existential crisis. The first was the sack of Rome in the 5th century when much of the clergy and Church documents were destroyed. the second was the East/West schism. The third was the Reformation. Now it is the crisis of vile homosexual priests defiling the sacred and molesting children.

The crisis of the present century is atheism/indifferentism. We have always had sinners in the Church, and we always will.

[Iscool]

Why?
They are heterosexual but took a vow of celibacy as a devotional practice. Why would they be unqualified for the clergy?

Why??? Because God says so...And he explains thru Paul that he must be married (to a woman) and has kids and is able to show that he is capable of and faithful in running his own family before God will allow him to run God's family...