Rev. Benedict Groeschel of New York says, in an interview, that priests accused of child sex abuse are often seduced by their accusers. He then apologized, and his order, the Franciscan Friars, says the priest is “mentally frail.”
Read NY priest apologizes for saying child is often seducer in sex abuse cases, on NBCNews.com.
And then there’s this:
Trial to open in notorious archdiocesan abuse case, on Philly.com.
The victim mentality of the predator is how they blame others for what they do. Took a child’s natural actions of pleasing and flipped it to blame the child. Demented…..
spoon
I totally agree that those who KNOW about or BECOME AWARE OF other adults OR older kids who are molesting/having sex with children of either sex and don’t turn them in, that those who don’t report it are just as guilty and need to be prosecuted. This is the one area that I think needs to have harsher, stricter laws: child protection.
The sad, or I should say the most tragic fact is that the statistics show that most child sexual abuse occurs in the child’s own home, perpetrated by a close relative. What tends to happen is that if Daddy, or Bubba or Cousin Spath or Uncle Rancid is the perp, then the child victim’s own mother and the rest of the family will close ranks to protect *the abuser* to protect the family from shame and legal prosecution. The little child victim gets thrown under the bus.
Of course there are also female perpetrators of child sexual abuse, its just that (so far) the overwhelming statistical evidence shows male perps. Plus there is still a HUGE, ghastly stigma or reluctance to consider the very idea that women perpetrate child sexual abuse, but it does happen. (see “Female Sexual Abuse of Children: The Ultimate Taboo” by Michele Elliot. Most of the research on that topic seems to be coming from Great Britain.)
Anyway, I figured that by now the Catholic Church had had enough shame and fund reduction due to pedophile priests and had decided to thoroughly clean house in that regard, but, apparently not. How naive of me! From what I’ve read, that particular line is THE *classic* thought-pattern and excuse of the child predator: “The kid wanted me to, the kid seduced ME.” Makes me want to puke.