Sexual Abuse by Clergy
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daily12010-02-13T01:04:25ZWhat About the Good Samaritan? Part 2 https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/32 Four teenage girls were molested by their youth pastor. When one teen finally disclosed, the senior pastor fired the youth pastor and reported him to the police. He was charged and prosecuted for sex with a minor. So far, so good. No publisherMMukaiSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-06-18T19:39:25ZBlog Entry"What About Torture?" https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/54 “Punching, flogging, assault and bodily attacks, hitting with the hand, kicking, ear pulling, hair pulling, head shaving, beating on the soles of the feet, burning, scalding, stabbing, severe beatings with or without clothes, being made to kneel and stand in fixed positions for lengthy periods, made to sleep outside overnight . . .”No publisherMMukaiCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-03-12T22:34:55ZBlog Entry“I Have Such Doubts!” https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/52 The movie “Doubt” depicts the enormous complexity of the possibility of sexual abuse of a child by a Catholic priest. Fr. Flynn is portrayed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a likable, middle aged priest deeply engaged in the life of the parish and school. He is open and progressive and wants to lead the parish forward. No publisherMMukaiChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-03-12T22:45:11ZBlog Entry“. . . Better That a Millstone . . .” https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/50 There are times when the contradictions of life overtake me. I was flying home from the east coast last week and one of those times intruded. On the plane, I sat next to a mother and father and their two-year-old daughter; in front of them sat their five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter. I was struck immediately by how thoughtful and respectful the parents were with the children and the siblings were with each other.No publisherMMukaiChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-03-12T22:45:22ZBlog EntryDear Pope: A “Mystery”? https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/140 I’m puzzled. In a recent talk in Ireland about the sexual abuse of children by priests, you described the situation as a “mystery” when you addressed the Eucharistic Congress. No publisherjfredricksenCurrent EventsSexual Abuse by Clergy2012-07-02T18:52:22ZBlog EntryGuest Blog: Shame on Pope Francis for Casting Doubt on Clergy-Abuse Victims https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/261 This Op-Ed by our friend and colleague Mary Dispenza was published in the Seattle Times on January 26, 2018. Mary is allowing us to share it here with you.
In scripture we find the lines, “If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” Survivors of clerical sex abuse are tired of turning the other cheek — tired of lies and promises, especially by popes, who through the ages have formed commission after commission, held conference after conference, issued report after report, and made promise after promise.No publishersbutlerChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2018-01-31T22:49:28ZBlog EntryResponding to Clergy Abuse of Children: Not Rocket Science, Part 2 https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/150 Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn has been convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse; he is the first Bishop to be held accountable for shielding a pedophile priest. He received no jail time or fine; rather he was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation. No publisherdmcinnisCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2012-09-22T01:53:12ZBlog EntryWho Needs to Confess? And What? https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/105 Actress Ashley Judd recently disclosed that she was sexually abused as a child; American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi recently disclosed that she was sexually abused as a child; Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts recently disclosed that he was sexually abused as a child. When each made a public disclosure, the media described these disclosures as “confessions.”No publisherMMukaiCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual ViolenceSexual Abuse by Clergy2011-04-25T07:58:07ZBlog Entry"Same Old, Same Old. . ." https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/130 We have become almost numb to the steady stream of disclosures of child sexual abuse: the Roman Catholic experiences continue even with serious efforts to stem the tide, the Penn State tragedy and subsequent campus situations. So in some ways this most recent release of a new documentary, “Standing Silent,” could easily be overlooked.No publisherjfredricksenJewishChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2012-03-23T06:28:22ZBlog EntryDear Pope: Call Me https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/72 As the crisis erupts again in Europe and the U.S. with serious questions being raised about the Pope himself, one has to wonder if the men in charge have learned anything in the past 20 years. It would appear not. If the Vatican were to ask me for advice on how to handle this situation (which they will not), here are my ten steps to justice and healing.No publisherMMukaiCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-06-18T19:35:43ZBlog EntryHiding in Plain Sight . . . With Help https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/142 The Penn State report and the conviction of Jerry Sandusky provide the irrefutable evidence that he was a sexual predator on the loose for over twenty years and there were numerous people with full knowledge of his crimes who could have stopped him. How does this happen?No publisherjfredricksenCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2012-07-16T23:27:27ZBlog Entry"It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/47 In baseball, there is an old saying about the game: "It ain't over 'til it's over." It's the reminder that you can't leave after the seventh inning and assume you know the outcome. As we have seen cases of sexual abuse by clergy emerge in recent years, it might be easy to assume that we have seen the worst of it. Yet the news continues to inform us of cases still waiting to be heard and justice still waiting to be experienced. It's definitely not over yet.No publisherMMukaiCurrent EventsSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-08-11T21:52:46ZBlog EntryDear Pope: I Was Worried https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/80 While I was on vacation, the Vatican came out with a significant doctrinal statement condemning the sexual abuse of children and the ordination of women. One could not help but conclude that these were somehow related. So I was worried that you intended to send the message that the crime of sexual abuse of a child was equivalent to the doctrinal violation of ordaining women.No publisherMMukaiCurrent EventsSexual Abuse by Clergy2010-08-02T21:28:26ZBlog EntrySpotlight: Diving Deep & Surfacing https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/231 Spotlight is the name of the team of Boston Globe reporters who investigated the Archdiocese of Boston in 2001 when the puzzle pieces began to fall into place surrounding the sexual abuse of children by priests. Their reporting yielded a Pulitzer Prize and finally blew the lid off the long-standing conspiracy of silence surrounding the protection of priest pedophiles in the Catholic Church.
Spotlight, the film, is indeed a cautionary tale for us all. While non-Catholics might be tempted to walk away from the theater with just a tinge of self-righteousness, assuming that this is a Catholic problem, don't give into that temptation. And let us not spend time arguing (as some commentators have) over whether "the problem" is greater or lesser in our faith community. Neither will serve us well.No publishersbutlerCurrent EventsChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2016-02-09T19:20:31ZBlog EntryWhat Would Jeremiah Say? https://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/blog/marie-fortune/232 The recent film Spotlight highlights the investigation by The Boston Globe into the coverup of child sexual abuse by priests in the Boston Archdiocese. Using the lens of investigative journalism, it takes us as viewers/bystanders through the years of complicity by the legal system, The Globe, and the Catholic Church— as well as the active efforts by the Church to hide the abuse and protect the pedophile priests at the expense of the laity.
The sexual abuse of children by faith leaders is no longer “news”. Sadly enough, it is too common to be “news”. But what is informative and important about Spotlight for those of us who are bystanders to these atrocities is the laying out of the institutional practices that have allowed this suffering to go on for decades.
In November, 2015, the National Center for Victims of Crime called for a national commission on child sexual abuse to investigate institutional settings where children are particularly vulnerable and where we know there has been a history of child sexual abuse.No publishersbutlerClergy Ethics & Healthy BoundariesChild AbuseSexual Abuse by Clergy2016-01-13T20:42:12ZBlog Entry