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PDF versionThe time is now: childhood sexual abuse and statutes of limitation
by Maureen Paul Turlish on Dec. 09, 2011
Both Pennsylvania and New York will have an uphill battle to get any legislation dealing with the sexual abuse of children discussed, let alone signed into law, regardless of what has been happening lately at Penn State, Syracuse or any other educational, religious, public or private institution.
This is especially true if Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput and New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan have anything to do with it.
Both churchmen, along with their respective state Catholic conferences, have drawn lines in the sand in their continued attempts to avoid the accountability and transparency the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed to in 2002 to say nothing of the right everyone has to access justice through this country's judicial process.
Especially significant are the remarks Dolan made to reporters during the November meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. Dolan, who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, compared the widening sex abuse scandal at Penn State University to the decades-long crisis in the Roman Catholic Church as if the latter were a thing of the past.
Actually, the archbishop misspoke when he said the present Penn State sexual abuse scandal "over a former football coach accused of sexually abusing young boys reopens a wound for the U.S. Roman Catholic Church."
The "wound" Dolan refers to never closed. It is a "wound" that has continued to fester since the Archdiocese of Boston imploded in 2002, revealing a massive cover-up by the hierarchy.
It is an open, festering wound in places like the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where the criminal trial of Msgr. William Lynn and four others begins in March 2012.
It festers, too, in Missouri, where Bishop Robert Finn has been criminally charged for not reporting the pornography found on a priest's computer as required by law. It festers in New York, where individuals like State Assemblywoman Marge Markey continue to press for legislation that gives some recourse to the justice that has long been denied to all older victims of childhood sexual abuse.
Even though investigators said charges against Syracuse University Coach Bernie Fine were credible, he could not be charged because of arbitrary and discriminatory statutes of limitation.
Why does this "wound" remain open 10 years after the U.S. bishops mandated accountability and transparency?
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Well, for one thing, the bishops of the United States have never really admitted, individually or collectively, to their part in covering up for clergymen known to have sexually exploited children, young people and vulnerable adults while failing miserably to protect the most precious of their charges -- the children.
Yes, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church has "a long way to go," to use Dolan's words, in making up for the egregious crimes and mortal sins that have been committed against children, but "failures" and "mistakes" are words that do not begin to describe the agony thousands of children were left to go through while the few adults who dared to confront pastors or bishops over the behavior of rogue priests were bullied, harassed and intimidated into silence, often with threats of eternal damnation and, of course, counter-suits.
These were crimes against the very humanity of children for whom there was no recourse to justice in the majority of cases because of the arbitrary, discriminatory and grossly inadequate statutes of limitation that exist in most states.
Dolan offered to work with "Penn State administrators on a national education campaign to stop abuse."
Does Dolan actually believe that the Roman Catholic Church has set some kind of a gold standard, either in regard to confronting the incidence of sexual abuse by clerics or in taking responsibility for the orchestrated cover-up by church leadership that followed?
It has not.
In a recent conversation with Cathy Lynn Grossman of USA Today, Dolan offered to share the supposed wealth of experience the bishops have in successfully dealing with the church's problems.
What chutzpah.
On Monday, Pennsylvania state Representative Dennis O'Brien convened an informational meeting of the House Children and Youth Committee, of which he is the majority chair. Along with Rep. Louise Bishop, who made public her own sexual abuse some weeks ago, O'Brien heard from eight individuals, including victims, a deceased victim's parent, advocates, the former deputy district attorney from Philadelphia who is now a senior prosecutor in Lehigh County and a constitutional lawyer and author from New York.
O'Brien made known his intentions to introduce a package of five bills to protect children -- House Bills 2046 through 2050 -- some sections of which repeat portions of House Bills 832 and 878, which were introduced March 1, before revelations of sexual abuse at Penn State became public.
What the scandals at Penn State, Syracuse and elsewhere make clear is that while the cover-up of sexual abuse by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was, and to a great extent continues to be, widespread, systemic and endemic, the sexual abuse and exploitation of children is not peculiar to this one organization.
That having been said, the question remains, How can the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church ethically or morally justify its opposition to legislation that would better protect all children while holding all sexual predators and their enablers accountable, regardless of religious affiliation?
Through its bishops and state Catholic conferences, the Roman Catholic Church is the most powerful institution opposing better child protection legislation in this country, bar none.
Dolan has been very vocal in his opposition to any proposed legislation in the state of New York that has sought to hold either sexual predators or enablers accountable.
In seeking to shield the Roman Catholic Church from the accountability and transparency it was forced to promise in 2002, such opposition now gives more protection to sexual predators -- whether they are parents, ministers, priests, imams, rabbis, doctors, teachers or coaches at universities like Syracuse or Penn State -- than to the victims themselves.
In opposing legislative reform in New York, Dolan is not unlike Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput in Pennsylvania, who has united with the Commonwealth's bishops and the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference in opposing any legislation that would enable victim/survivors of childhood sexual abuse to access justice, no matter when they were sexually exploited or by whom.
Archbishops Dolan and Chaput, along with most of their fellow bishops, haven't a clue as to the suffering that the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church's has caused and continues to inflict on sexual abuse victims because they have never been truly accountable or transparent.
No one in the Catholic community has suffered more than the innocent children whose minds, hearts and souls were torn asunder by those who stood in the place of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Baltimore's former archbishop, Cardinal William Keeler, correctly described such horrific sexual abuse by a trusted minister of God when he used the term "soul murder," for it truly is that.
Dolan, as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, should be at the head of the parade in advocating for the removal of all criminal and civil statutes of limitation in regard to the sexual abuse of children, but he is not heading up that parade, and neither is Chaput.
Such behavior can only signal an insidious moral and ethical bankruptcy that should be repugnant to all.
[Maureen Paul Turlish is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, an educator and an advocate for legislative reform. She is a founding member of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition and a member of the Justice 4 PA Kids Coalition.]
Sister, when will LCWR and
Sister, when will LCWR and its communities release information about the children abused by women religious over the years? Doesn't their inaction also "signal an insidious moral and ethical bankruptcy that should be repugnant to all?" In failing to call upon women religious to reveal their past, aren't you part of the same hypocrisy of which you accuse the bishops and their conferences? Will you now push for an end to the statute of limitations on hypocrisy?
Andrew, great attempt at
Andrew, great attempt at Catholic distraction.
There are only so many thing someone can write about in a single article, and bishops hiding child sex abuse is a big one.
If you have such a big problem with women in the church abusing children, then you should do something about it.
The article went on for 1500
The article went on for 1500 words....and the statute of limitations refers to women's sins, too....
It would seem to be
It would seem to be impossible for him to do something, if the LCWR does not release records. The sisters are also organized in each individual congregation in their own form of hierarchical structure.
Would it not be two sides of the same coin? Institutional obstruction of justice to the victims? The main difference is now that the bishops have been forced to correct for the past and prevent for the future.
Whither the sisters?
Typical male response - point
Typical male response - point the finger at someone else instead of addressing the issue at hand. Just watch those bishops bob and weave!
Yes, I agree that Sister is
Yes, I agree that Sister is pointing the finger at someone else and not addressing the abuse by women religious.
There are hordes of
There are hordes of unreported victims of Priest abuse out there by older victims still suffering. I know a few of them rather well who have never been able to settle down and find any peace because of it. One woman still nightmarishly flashes back to the smell and sound of the pastor's heavy breathing as he rapes her.
These people deserve for the statute of limitations to be lifted everywhere so that justice from the RCC for the untold permanent and deep damage done to them can come.
So called celibate men of God who have serial sexual relations with parishoners and others must pay the money it takes to bring justice to each and every victim for the brokensess cavalier clerics and enabling bishops have inflicted.
Dear anonymous, I too, know
Dear anonymous,
I too, know more than a few "older victims" are have remained silent
These are South side Chicagoans in their 40's and 50's.
I shudder to think what the total number is.
I wonder, do you Lourdes
I wonder, do you Lourdes Martinez have direct knowledge of such, with facts, dates and names?
If you have direct knowledge of such matters as you loudly charge, you are derelict in your moral duty to report to the authorities, that is the civil authorities.
You cant have it both ways Lourdes, be an erstwhile plaintiff with no facts. If you have direct and reliable names and dates, why are you waiting and taking the weakest position... waiting fatuously for records to be opened when in fact you yourself as reliable witness can report.
My question to you stands: do you Lourdes Martinez have direct knowledge of such, with facts, dates and names?
If so, kindly state so, for the sake of those harmed instead of prolonging others' tortures by your silence about facts.
CHAPUT & DOLAN TANGO
CHAPUT & DOLAN TANGO ........ Anon., you said it well. NY's Dolan and Philly's Chaput dance their "mystical tango" and expect once again no one will notice they are not moving their feet. They are only following the lead of their Vatican band leader who chose them mainly because their ambitious records indicated they would blindly follow the papal dance pattern.
Thank you, Maureen, for shining the spotlight on the archbishops' shameful efforts to deny innocent victims their constitutional rights as American citizens to have their abuse claims heard in a court of law.
The evidence is overwhelming that young American sexual abuse victims are often shamed by their bishops and then conned by bishops' lawyers to avoid timely lawsuits. When some victims mature and gain courage to sue, the bishops (supported by crony politicians) say "too late", the statute of limitations has tolled. The victims have the burden of proof; hence, the victims face more obstacles in proving older claims then the bishops face in defending them. This unwarranted effort by the bishops to deny claims is unjust and unnecessary, but it preserves bishops' wealth by letting them avoid victims' just claims.
In addition to unChristian lobbying for short statutes of limitations, US bishops lobby to prevent legislatures from requiring the prompt reporting of child abuse claims to the police.
The Vatican confirmed last May that if the applicable local laws do not require bishops to report abuse claims to the police, the Vatican will not require it. So if bishops can by lobbying prevent the enactment of new local law abuse reporting requirements, the bishops can continue with their current cover up approach with full papal acquiesence.
NY's Dolan has lost all crediblity by attempting to divert attention to the Penn State scandal and away from the far more extensive and long standing priestly child sexual abuse scandal in the Philly Archdiocese. Two Philly grand juries have reported the number of children raped by priests and the extent of the cover up for exceeds what has been reported to date by the Penn State grand jury. Even the head of the Philly Archdiocesean Review Board has indicated she had been conned by two cardinals who withheld critical abuse data from her.
To date neither Dolan, as head of the US bishops, nor any other US bishop outside Philly, has publicly commented on the current Philly scandal. Instead, like the pope recently and Dolan here, they try to divert attention to other institutions. It is basically the "everyone's raping kids' defense; so why are you picking on the Catholic Church--you must be "anti-Catholic". What an embarassing defense from men who claim to be followers of Jesus!
Authentic Catholics know that the Vatican and the bishops are immorally failing to follow Jesus' clear mandate to protect children. But so is each and every Catholic who fails to speak out in favor of new laws to protect children and to condemn Catholic leaders who lobby against them. Moreover, any Catholic who still funds the bishops' unChristian efforts will someday have to explain to Jesus the reasons why.
For information on the extent to which the Philly Archdiocesan child sexual abuse scandal exceeds that reported so far about Penn State, please click on to the article about the secret Philly files and pervasive priest abuse of defenseless children, accessible by clicking on at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-catholic-churchs-secret-sex...
For information on how the Philly cardinals conned the head of the Philly Archdiocesan Child Protection Review Board, please note the chairwoman's own report, accessible by clicking on at:
http://commonwealmagazine.org/fog-scandal-1
For information on Philly's Chaput's long standing lobbying and other efforts to defeat legislation that would assure sexual abuse victims an opportunity for justice, please note the article accessible by clicking on at:
http://coloradoindedendent.com/107349/penn-lawmakers-seeking-to-bolster-...
CHAPUT'S REAL LOBBYING
CHAPUT'S REAL LOBBYING ...... Oops! The correct link to the article that sets forth Philly's Chaput's history of leading lobbying efforts to prevent victims from bringing claims, please click on at:
http://coloradoindependent.com/107349/penn-lawmakers-seeking-to-bolster-...
I remember in Colorado, they
I remember in Colorado, they wanted to pass a law that would lift the statute of limitations for abuse. But ONLY for Catholic clergy to be accused. Archbishop Chaput stated he would be in favor of it, but ONLY if it was lifted for everyone (including school teachers, lawyers, and coaches). The bill was quickly dropped as the government did not want to open that can of worms. So, again we see how Jerry and others appear to spin the evidence and leaves so much out.
It is interesting that so many of those who claim they care about child abuse don't seem to care unless a Catholic priest is involved. The silence is so deafening, especially given how many children are abused by non-clerics. What do you do with people who concentrate on the .01% and ignore the 99.99%? You look for their real agenda.
Thank you Fr. J. for your
Thank you Fr. J. for your common sense comments.I agree. David Wendell of Stayton Oregon
Fr J, You're a liar, which is
Fr J,
You're a liar, which is what we've come to expect from the Catholic church.
Your comment that people are concentrate on the 0.01% is a complete lie. The Catholic church is the ONLY institution that has committed thousands of child rapes (in the U.S alone) and has tried to hide it and intimidate the victims.
Name one other one that has done so, but be specific and show proof online. For proof that the Catholic church is an organized pedophile protection program, look at your own voluntary, Catholic John Jay report of 2004.
You lie on their behalf. You will not be forgiven for doing so.
Not thousands Patrick, tens
Not thousands Patrick, tens of thousand, and when all seals are opened (and one day they will be) most likely hundreds of thousands.
Patrick, the last figures we
Patrick, the last figures we have are 130,000 accusations of abuse in one year. 6 were against Catholic clergy. So in a way you are right. My figures are off. It is actually more like .046%. You ignore the rest. Teachers unions routinely defend their members and insure that they get their pensions. Unions are quite intimidating.
"Unions are quite
"Unions are quite intimidating."
spoken like a true blue clueless republican, not a Catholic.
This seems to be a red
This seems to be a red herring argument. Unions can provide help for their members in educating them as to their rights and making sure they have representation. Unions cannot/do not prevent legal process from occurring in child abuse cases, at least not in states with mandated reporting! In fact, the more familiar scenario is to provide protection from retaliation for members who are in the position of reporting!
In all tabs taken for
In all tabs taken for statistics gathering, be it medical, legal, what have you...it has been typically theorized that those reported actually compromise 5% - 10% of the total...I'm being very generous because some would actually say 1%...be that as it may, you are more likely looking at 10-20 times the claims that are public, that is the actual number of victimizations. Again, I'm being extremely generous...
This does not include the number of victims that are mentally handicapped, dead by old age or suicide or even murder who cannot speak for themselves.
Fr J you are leaving out the
Fr J you are leaving out the fact that no other institution has the centralized authority structure of the Roman Catholic Church. No other institutional structure conducted a world wide criminal cover up. Teachers answer to local authorities, coaches to local authorities, other professionals to their local professional review boards. Only Catholic priests answer to bishops who answer first to Canon Law and then to Rome.
The Catholic authority structure is not like any other group and that uniqueness kept the clerical child abuse an active problem for centuries through out the global community.
FYI, I work with incest and abuse survivors on a daily basis so I am well aware of the pervasive aspect of child sexual abuse. I'm just not aware of any other group of predators who enjoyed such a free hand or belonged to an organization that supported their predation in quite the same way as the global Roman Catholic hierarchy.
This is false. Rome is not
This is false. Rome is not all seeing. They are not everywhere. Priests answer to their local bishop. Teachers unions routinely protect their abusers and pass them on. We are no discovering the extent of abuse in coaching. If you work in the field then you know that over 99.9% are not abused by Catholic clergy. The ONLY reason that you, and others, concentrate on priests is because of other agendas.
Rev. Fr. J.: There IS a
Rev. Fr. J.:
There IS a difference. Teachers, coaches, etc. are NOT TEACHING ABOUT FOLLOWING CHRIST'S EXAMPLE. They don't stand, kneel, and prostrate themselves before Him and their communities in expression of their commitment to live Christlike lives. They don't consecrate the Host with one hand while they touch our children with the other. How are we to accept St. John Vianney's writings about priests if they "just want to be treated like 'everyone else?'" You are NOT EVERYONE ELSE! If you want to be, you're in the wrong career field. God didn't call "everyone else" to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. The laity have the right, nay, RESPONSIBILITY to expect their priests to be saints! Your defensiveness shows an obvious intention of deflecting. Your snide attitude should be directed at your colleagues and superiors where it is deserved and might make a difference. The ONLY reason that you and others DON'T concentrate on priests is because of OTHER AGENDAS.
p.s. Reread Vianney!
Father that is not true. If
Father that is not true. If anything people have a vigilante attitude towards suspected or alleged child abusers.
As a Catholic I hold my bishops, priests, brothers and sisters to higher standard. We are to be witness for Christ. We fail in that witnessing when we allow the sexual abuse coverups. That is why any priest, bishop, pope, sister, deacon or brother who participates in coverup should be fired after due process to determine the facts. Forgiveness still allows for temporal punishment.
Well, you've done your duty
Well, you've done your duty Fr J {not verified}, may you receive a special blessing.
Thank you Jerry, for bringing
Thank you Jerry, for bringing in the real stories: the cover-ups and lies, the manipulations by the people we were brought up to trust and respect. I can only hope and pray that these shameful revelations of an institution gone so terribly wrong (in many other ways too), are the beginning of an implosion that will renew and reform the church. May Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, continue to blow where she will.
DEALWARE HAS NO CRIMINAL OR
DEALWARE HAS NO CRIMINAL OR CIVIL SOL ON THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN
Having passed the 2007 Child Victims' Law (SB 29)DELAWARE has fixed the noose around the necks of all sexual predators of children along with any complicit or enabling individuals or institutions. And a two year civil window (2007-09) allowed previously time-barred cases of childhood sexual abuse (by anyone) to be brought forward in civil court completes the picture.
What did that two year civil window do?
It allowed access to the judical system which every citizen of this country is supposed to have but has been denied to now adult victims of CSA by anyone. It doesn't matter whether the perp is a man or woman, father, mother, aunt or uncle, priest, pastor, minister, seminarian, deacon, bishop, sister or nun, teacher, coach, doctor, lawyer, etc., etc., etc.
REMOVING THE CIVIL STATUTES OF LIMITATION IN REGARD TO CSA ALLOWS ACCESS ONLY. IT GUARANTEES NOTHING AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF IS STILL ON THE PLAINTIFF. IT IS NOT ON THE ACCUSED IN CIVIL LITIGATION.
If witnesses have died and there is no supporting evidence to be found or if has been destroyed, a case will go nowhere. But the fact of the matter is that, like Penn State, there is often a record of who knew what and when they knew it. In the past some people expected that the leadership of some larger religious demoninations, the Roman Catholic Church for one, certainly, would do the morally right thing in protecting children from sexual abuse by known predators. The entire world now knows that such belief was an exercise in futility.
Should society trust those who so greatly abused their power and authority to do the right thing? The fact is that RCC leadership in attempting to keep its own secrets denies the protection of law to everyone!
Read:
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/victims-justice-and-new-archbishop
http://ncronline.org/blogs/examining-crisis/accountability-transparency-...
http://www.pahouse.com/pr/192030111.asp
Visit:
www.Justice4PaKids.com
www.AbolishSexAbuse.org
www.Catholics4Change.com
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
The burden of proof in a
The burden of proof in a civil case is only "preponderance" so to say that removing the SOL is fair to the defendants is an absurd statement. We have SOLs for a reason, they serve to protect the rights of persons to not have to spend time and money defending old claims. A charge of sexual abuse is emotionally charged and the Church is viewed (often incorrectly) as a "deep pockets" defendant. So the protection just is not there. I guarantee you if you were ever accused of anything and the SOL was available to you, you would be all in favor of it.
your grasp of the actual law
your grasp of the actual law is not even threadbare Scotus, it's laughable in its wishful rather than factual understanding. You deal in innuendo even talking about legal matters. Antithetical to legal thought entirely. Sad. The church deserves far clearer minds than yours that can actually be useful legally instead of bloviating about how the law 'ought to be' according to you and your poor understandings, rather than how it actually is at its most effective.
You and Sister are the ones
You and Sister are the ones bloviating about how the law ought to be based on wishful fantasies that presume all accusations of sexual abuse are ipso facto true. Unlike you I actually am a lawyer. And if you knew anything about the law, which you don't, you would know that statutes of limitations are basic to any fair civil litigation process.
No, statutes of limitations
No, statutes of limitations have no place where children are deliberately targeted because of their vulnerability (those very young, disabled, from broken homes, already abused by their own families, whose parents abuse drugs or alcohol, orphans, sick etc). Where children are abused year in, year out for most of their childhood. Where devastated children are denied the support of their parents, community, or church leaders to overcome their damage and are instead physically beaten, treated as liars, their pain dismissed, their truth denied, ostracised for trying to speak and bullied into silence.
Under those circumstances it is not fair to ignore the fact that it is almost impossible to report the crimes committed against you, or even to talk about it or admit it to yourself for decades. It is not fair that victims are impoverished by their damage and yet have to face the most vicious defence the church's wealth can buy, gleefully inflicting horrendous additional harm to protect these monsters from facing responsibility for their own actions.
It is not fair that under the circumstances of our abuse we are effectively denied justice by statute of limitations and other technical loopholes (such as rapist too old or mentally unfit to stand trial). It is not fair that the catholic church hierarchy deliberately re-abuse victims to keep them suffering in painful silence until they are past the post of the statute of limitations, or that they delay any internal processes with the same aim in mind.
It is not fair that additional children's lives are destroyed because the statute of limitations is so effective in keeping rapists free to continue to rape for the rest of their lives.
It is not fair that it is almost impossible to achieve even one conviction, which could then be used to protect children, against cunning serial predators guilty of thousands of child rapes on hundreds of children. It is not fair that the statute of limitations allows these dangerous criminals to call themselves "innocent" and to gain the trust of families and access to their homes and children.
It is not fair that in these heroic efforts to protect the reputations of some of the most depraved and unstoppable monsters known to mankind, literally thousands of truly innocent children, guilty of nothing more than being vulnerable and having gullible catholic parents who put undeserved respect for church authority figures before their children's welfare, receive a life sentence. We have no fair trial, no representation, no means of appeal as our lives and potential are stolen from us before we have even made it to adulthood.
The law as it stands at the moment is completely inappropriate to this type of crime (no matter who the rapists work for), to the type of damage inflicted, to the pattern of offending and the pattern of reporting, to the nature of the available evidence, to the danger to the community of keeping these criminals free to continue to rape and to basic human rights. Our rape laws are antiquated and based on protecting powerful males against extremely rare false claims. Providing hundreds of thousands of victims with access to justice is sacrificed along with the victims themselves.
Instead of smugly turning your backs on victims absolutely denied justice by a biased, unfair and completely broken system, and gloating about how little you know or care about compassion or justice, support Sr Maureen's calls for law reform. Comprehensive law reform.
Actually, Scotus has
Actually, Scotus has described the purpose of the statute of limitations exactly as my 1st year contracts professor described it to us. It has a very important purpose, protecting people from claims so old that there is no longer enough evidence or witnesses to mount an effective defense. As someone who deals regularly in cases where some of the allegations of wrongdoing are so old that most of the potential witnesses from that time are dead (the SOL- or liberative prescription, as we call it down here in Louisiana- being suspended by the doctrine of contra non valentum) I can tell you that defending against allegations of decades old offenses is no easy matter, whether the accused is innocent or no.
I cannot imagine the pressures and inhibitions acting on a victim of childhood sexual abuse. I think tolling the SOL until the victim reaches majority is probably just. But at some point, an adult, even one as scarred as these victims must be, must either come forward and seek redress, or forfeit his rights, just like every other person in the country. To describe the statute of limitations as "discriminatory," as the author does, is just silly.
What possesses somebody to
What possesses somebody to make anonymous comments on important issues?
But what about all the issues
But what about all the issues that women have with priests. More than 40 years ago, I was told that I should think of myself as a eunuch. Then shortly after his statement, the priest told me that he had loved me for years and other priests encouraged the relationship to "help" him. It was not sexual but nevertheless a very binding feeling.
I was sexually abused by a nun sixty years ago.
What was also very damning was the way nuns disciplined their charges. I still regret more than fifty years later my hitting children which was encouraged in the school where I taught but it was not at all limited at that time to Catholic schools as this was also in the public school.
I am sure that the number is legion who have had similar experiences.
I am sorry for what you
I am sorry for what you endured Sue S. None of this should ever have occurred. My wife, who attended catholic school 1-12 often talks about the physical cruelty of the nuns, and she is in her 50's. If she told her mother, the response was "you deserved it" There are many who share your experience (assault of a minor).
It isn't just "physical
It isn't just "physical cruelty"
=============================
it is psychological violation. The root fault is not with the teaching nuns, it is with the dominion culture of Catholicism and its insidious literal teaching of the Genesis rib-myth, i.e., of woman [Eve] derived from and totally dependent on man [Adam].
The trauma of guilt and fear associated with literal belief in the original sin story is a lifetime, festering scar, and is perpetuated on and by people whose lives are defined by alienation and marginalization. The sin of sexual abuse begins with the literal projection of the fraudulent rib-myth on children TO THIS VERY DAY!!!
When will people of faith wake up to adult consciousness and responsibility, and get beyond literal mythology? It's time that the Gospel of "original grace" be taught so people are uplifted instead of oppressed, suppressed, repressed snd depressed for their lifetimes. Mortal sins against innocence are committed in the name of dogma, as regular fare. God help us!
Evolution Theology opens to untapped human potentials. www.WordUnlimited.com
BRAVO, and thank you. Well
BRAVO, and thank you. Well said!
"from and totally dependent
"from and totally dependent on man [Adam].
The trauma of guilt and fear associated with literal belief in the original sin story is a lifetime, festering scar, and is perpetuated on and by people whose lives are defined by alienation and marginalization. The sin of sexual abuse begins with the literal projection of the fraudulent rib-myth on children TO THIS VERY DAY!!!"
It is almost incredible to find an attack on the authority of the Word of God
among sincere Christian attempts to protect children. Casting doubt upon the scriptures is one of the worst characteristics of traditional Catholicism IMO.
Physical punishment was very
Physical punishment was very common in American education 50 years ago. I'm talking public schools, too. And it is still legal in more than half of the 50 states. Legislators are too cowardly to discuss the issue and admit that it is the law of their state. Fortunately, most, but not all school districts now prohibit physical punishment.
The last defense of the
The last defense of the guilty is to point the finger somewhere else.
There is enough blame to go
There is enough blame to go around. I grew up over a 15 year period to sexual abuse in our parish, both the pastor and the assistant. It was not until a Notre Dame nun was propositioned that she came out against the abuser. However, neither the bishop nor the Mother Superior would move against the abuser. It was the Archbishop who acted. Yes, the female Orders also have work to do. So let's do as the the NCR Comment Code instructs us and "Take on the idea, not the messenger". We all have failed, as saints of God, but will continue in the race. Andrew, you have your point. Maureen, this was a well organized and challenging article. Thank You.
Andrew, You don't like what
Andrew,
You don't like what Sr. Maureen said, so you attack her.
Thank you Andrew, YES, I do
Thank you Andrew,
YES, I do agree with you here, about the nuns and women who abused and sexual abused girls and boys, and in most of the homes, orphanages worldwide. Most people do not want to know or hear about women and nuns, as it is such a taboo, and is an embarrassing and offensive,to most people. It is time now for both, male and female abusers to be made accountable, for their actions, on the defenseless children and teenagers, young men and women, whose lives they have ruined, and by using the name of God, while they ab8used and sexual abused us. Ann
I was sexually abused
I was sexually abused multiple times by a nun with the Order of St. Benedict in the late 1970s when I was in elementary school. I came forward recently and O.S.B. and the private Catholic school did absolutely nothing. No investigation, very little dialogue and they flat out deemed my allegations "not credible" because the accused nun said that I "must have been mistaken." It was a slap in the face and re-opened the wounds I have spent most of my life trying to forget. I am so angry and hurt. This nun still has access to children. It's a crime! She should be in prison. The handling of this case is disgusting and the Catholic Church ought to be ashamed they continue to allow sexual predators access to children and cover up and deny the horrible, unspeakable damage they have inflicted upon innocent people.
WINDOW LEGISLATION, WINDOW
WINDOW LEGISLATION, WINDOW LEGISLATION, WINDOW LEGISLATION
This is why providing WINDOW LEGISLATION is so important. Everyone is supposed to have a right to, at the very least, access justice, access the judicial system, in the good old USofA.
Delaware included a two year statute of limitation in the 2007 Child Victims' Law. It provided two years between July of 2007 and July 0f 2009 so that previously time barred cases of childhood sexual abuse - BY ANYONE - could be brought forward in civil court.
This problem has to be addressed in the legislature individually, state after state after state. SOL are arbitrary and discriminatory. Why in some cities even traffic violations have no SOL. The sexual abuse of an individual, especially a child, should like murder, have no statutes of limitation criminally or civilly, for the perp and for any enabling or facilitating individual or institution -- be it Penn State, Syracuse, the Orthodox Jewish Community in the New York or the Roman Catholic Church.
Unfortunately we are all aware now if we were not before, that we can not presume that religious leaders will do the morally right thing simply because they are religious leaders.
HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE - CHANGE THE LAW - REMOVE ALL SOL REGARDING CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
Wow - Who is paying you to
Wow -
Who is paying you to post comments that have nothing to do with he topic at hand? Let me give you a news flash as your dial up modem and fax machine may not get information to you quick enough: the church has and continues to abuse, hide abuse and protect abuse victims as it loses members, money and credibility. Every Catholic that gives money to the church is voting "YES" to less visibility, no changes in the statuette of limitations and business as usual.
Here is the shocker - most Catholics are not aware that they are funding the best legal defense team since the OJ verdict. The Church has a mission today of crushing the victims, they hide behind "everyone will say they were abused" when thousands of souls have been murdered.
The Priests can do nothing about it as they would be out of a job with no job skills. Somewhat like the mafia when you think about it -
I prepare folks for new careers and will donate my time to any clergy that does not feel the "calling" anymore. Through grants and donations, we can help them find a new career -
The other side of the
The other side of the argument is that the longer the bishops etc obfuscate the issue, the more it will fester and explode.
Eventually we will not have to deal with a church that is bankrupted - not by the courts (as it rightly should be), but by parishioners going elsewhere and also keeping their money.
I've read that the USA church has paid about $2 Billion in damages and there are about 60 million Catholics here
In Ireland the church has paid about $2 billion in damages, with only 6 million Catholics.
Suggesting that we have only scratched the surface of the problem .
My only fear - the second "anything but holy" Inquisition. Ugly.
Now i realize why the Pope
Now i realize why the Pope promoted Dolan to Cardinal.
He needs the cardinal to conntinue fighting the statue of limitations extension - to insure that the church is not forced to provide some minor restitution for the broken lives it ignored re the molestaion of children
May the Pope...... well, you know, unprintable.
Dolan also
And why is Archbishop Chaput
And why is Archbishop Chaput in Philadelphia?
Because he was successful in stopping Statute of Limitation reform in Colorado.
Sister Maureen
In that abuse by church
In that abuse by church people, clerical and others, let's not forget to include the physical abuse of kids by those "gentle" nuns in parochial schools. Those nuns who were sternly advised by their elders to never smile before Christmas, even Easter in order to maintain order in their overcrowded classrooms. Many took it a step further and never smiled in front of kids. The church should never have gotten into parochial education. Archbishop Ireland led that movement for nothing but brain-washing purposes. And catechism became the "intellectual" diet of the school day to the neglect of everything else except rote English and poor arithmetic parading as number learnings.
Nice attempt at changing the
Nice attempt at changing the topic. The Church has a huge problem with priests sexually harming children worldwide. And they've known about it for a long time and nothing was done. And still the bishops think they can get away with doing nothing in some places, including in the United States. They are out of touch. I am ashamed to say I am Catholic.
I honestly do not know how
I honestly do not know how these men sleep at night or how they can stand at the altar and look at the Face of Christ in the Eucharist or into the eyes of the People of God whom they are supposed to serve(not the other way round) and enjoy their very comfortable life styles without so much as a hint of understanding of the 30 pieces of silver kind of betrayal of everything they are supposed to stand for and serve! Yet despite this indescribable treason and utter abandonment of their priestly and episcopal vows they still do not understand the wrong they have committed and are committing by such treason; and to add insult to most grievous injury they still do not recognize they have lost all moral authority except to a group of narrow minded little people who want to be dominated.
The rape of a young boy, in a
The rape of a young boy, in a church, by someone they are taught to call father is worse than murder in my opinion. These poor kids are "done". Odds are quite high they will grow up to be drunk, wife beating child abusers themselves...and will their sons...and their sons. The generational impact cannot be overstated. There should be NO statute of limitations on child rapes. Just my worthless opinion.
Quite worthless indeed. Both
Quite worthless indeed. Both civil and criminal statutes of limitation serve a fundamental role in protecting the rights of people and institutions in our society. The fact is that it grows increasingly hard to defend a claim (particularly an emotional wrought one like child sex abuse) so many years after the fact. Statutes of limitations do not BEGIN to run until the child in question reaches the age of 18. So if, say, a 12 year is abused and the statute of limitations is 5 years, they have until their are 23 to bring a civil lawsuit. That is more than enough time. Yes, in some cases, people have trouble bringing claims even at this point, but there has to be some fairness built into both sides of the equation. In the same example, the accused could be defending a claim that is 11 years old. How well could you present evidence about what you did or didn't do 11 years ago. As Thomas More said in A Man for All Seasons (paraphrase), "If you mowed down all the laws to get at the devil, what would you take shelter behind when they came for you?"
Dearest Scotus, Statute of
Dearest Scotus,
Statute of limitations were put in place to protect person's rights, but they were enacted prior to dna evidence, the widespread use video cameras, cell phone cameras and most importantly the internet. Where dna, video, or internet admissions exist.. The statute of limitation laws have not kept up with technology and need to be reviewed and revised.
Problem is (1) none that
Problem is (1) none that applies to situations where NOW they are lifting the statute of limitations retroactively to allow claims from before to be brought today. They didn't have cell phones and the internet in 1988, but in some states cases from whenever are being brought against alleged sex abusers and institutions that employed/supervised them. (2) While it is true in some cases that some evidence can persist indefinitely, other evidence cannot. You can point to some cases that are barred by the statute of limitations where the evidence to decide the case is still available and reliable, in other cases where it cannot. But the point of a statute of limitation is to have some kind of cut-off, otherwise no one would ever be safe from a lawsuit about some long ago event.
In the age of Photoshop image
In the age of Photoshop image manipulation and digital information, one has to be very careful in the interpretation of records that may have been created yesterday that purport to give evidence on an event of 50 years ago.
You raise an interesting point with respect to DNA records, though.
You need not be concerned
You need not be concerned with photo shopping evidence Ray. Any criminalist can deem a photo altered in a minute. And, no matter how many times you hit the delete button on your computer...the hard drive "never lies".
This is true and often the
This is true and often the reason why many states have avoided extending limitations. Abuse of the sort we see in the Church is prevalent in public schools, city daycare centers, and in the foster care system. (In fact, I recall a recent limitations bill in the NY legislature being dropped after a few meetings with the state government) There is NO statute of limitations on criminal charges, but the evidence burden in a criminal suit is much greater and is often why abuse charges go unprosecuted when first reported (we can't litigate without good enough evidence and often times in the case of child abuse, it's reported long enough after the abuse that there is no evidence to speak of, other than the victim's testimony, which is rarely ever enough). It's much easier to win substantial damages in a civil suite and it's much easier to accuse someone in a civil suit and that's one of the major reasons for the statute of limitations. I could accuse the county of so and so of knowing about some very old or dead teacher abusing me thirty years ago, when I was in grade school, and win millions of dollars. As someone who has defended a retired, quite old school teacher from a civil suit of this nature, successfully, I might add, I can tell you that it is a very difficult thing to do.
SCOTUS (and this could only
SCOTUS (and this could only be scalia) claims "So if, say, a 12 year is abused and the statute of limitations is 5 years, they have until their are 23 to bring a civil lawsuit. That is more than enough time." but provides no psychological data supporting this ridiculous claim. Anyone so abused by one so powerful (while truly so weak) has been terrified into silence, forever, and five years after realizing the age of majority in no way is time enough for the strength to speak out.
What, just a phone call downtown, yo, dudes, I think I got abused as a kid, yeah, check it out . . .
There is no way someone can report such abuse, no way, so facily, so casually, without great support, understanding, through all of the shame and self-recrimniation, through all of the self-hatred and self-despising and self- blaming this brings. Five years is too brief, but the bishops bark for a quick cut off time in the name of, what, religious freedom?
our only religious freedom is to clothe the naked, father, not to leave us stripped naked. We clothe the naked when we attend to those we have hurt forever, deeply, not denying their anguish alone.
SCOTUS again you are wrong, like on that 2000 Florida thing, but it is the wrong you are paid by the powerful to do.
There will be no statute of limitations in eternity.
That's why we call it eternity.
First of all, I am not on the
First of all, I am not on the Supreme Court, sorry to disappoint you. But my main point is that there has to be fairness to both sides. Yes, some victims of child sex abuse take a long time to "process" it and it may be difficult for them to get their act together to bring a lawsuit, say, 5 years after they turn 18. But you also have to look at the rights of the accused to have to defend such an old allegation. It is particularly pertinent in the case of the Church, where the "accused" is not just the perpetrator but those who are alleged to have negligently supervised the perpetrator. Failure to supervise or control an employee or priest is a very complex question legally and factually (what did the diocese know, when did it know it, etc.) and to ask them to defend a case from 30-40 years ago is, quite literally, absurd. I am not on the Supreme Court, but I am a lawyer and I have seen these types of cases (not Catholic specifically, but in other contexts) and it is incredibly flawed. We have statutes of limitations for a reason and they, by necessity, have to be fairly limited, otherwise doing justice is impossible. And for an abused minor, they already have all the time until they turn 18 then the statute of limitations begins to run, so 3-7 years after that is the upper limits of reasonable. Beyond that, it is just a circus.
Thank you for an unusual bit
Thank you for an unusual bit of commonsense and balanced consideration of justice. It is a refreshing change from all the hateful blusterings of the many on this subject.
We have murder trials in this
We have murder trials in this country that are circuses so why should that be a consideration?
I do not, and no decent
I do not, and no decent person whetehr Cathlic or not, have the slightest tolerance of the sexual abuse of children or teenagers by members of the clergy or any other group. I am a mother. The perpetrators of this abuse and those who covered up for them, for what then appeared to be good reasons or for bad ones, have done more harm to the church and religion in gneeral than Marxism was capable fo doing. However, as a devout Catholic AND a lawyer, I must agree with Scotus's comments. Our legal system must be fair to both sides, particularly in relation to the supervisory issue. Our rightful indiganation must be tempered by fairness - we cannot allow this to become a trial by "accusation and association".
What about the ongoing rape
What about the ongoing rape of young girl from 8-18 by her father in the silence of her own home with siblings in other rooms and mother sleeping or working in another room? would you consider that"worse than murder?" What about the rape of grandchildren beause it made grandpa happy. this with knowledge of grandpa's own daughters and sons and grandma of course. what about ongoing rape of stepfather of step children while mummy was at work is that OK.What about the rape by grandpa of grand daughter 18 yrs and all his 9 other children and grandchildren and emotional and physical abuse added to that. And the odds you mention are right socical workers/psyhologist see this daily. Do abusers become abusers? at times when they are not helped but with right help there is possibility of recovery. not forgetting but release from pain. Matt your "worthless opinion" (as you say) is good but you are closed in on a small section of abuse. abuse of children inclduing sexual abuse (because of their innocence) is endemic and not limited to CatholicChurch as it is implied.
All of those instances of
All of those instances of abuse are less important to SNAP, NCR, VoTF, CTA, Sister Maureen because they do not help the agenda. The goal isn't to protect children. The goal is to change the church. Exposing the huge sexual abuse problem in public schools does nothing to get the church to ordain women or perform gay marriages. Thus, it is a waste of time to these people.
Anonymous, Anonymous,
Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous,
"You have eyes but cannot see and ears but cannot hear."
I have been advocating for legislative reform since 2002. One doesn't have to be a brain surgeon to realize that most child abuse, sexual or otherwise, trafficking in children for sexual exploitation and child pornography, which is not a victimless crime by the way, happens in the home; that it is not only a epidemic but a pandemic having a ripple effect on many lives and costing the larger society billions of dollars in a variety of services, loss of productivity because of truncated lives, etc. etc., etc.
Evil happens. Evil is present.
We need not look for a being with horns and clover hoofs because it could very well be the person next to you in church or on the train or plane.
However, most of us had the expectation, a rather naive one upon reflection, that our churchmen really do follow the Gospel Imperative to protect the most vunerable among us. We now know they didn't and don't and that goes not only for the RCC but also for the Baptists, the Orthodox Jewish Community in New York....
How difficult is it to understand that the greater scandal within the RCC is the bishops' conspiracy to keep the crimes and mortal sins of sexual predators in their midst hidden, lying to the faithful, lying to the victims and their families, and effectively becoming complicit in the sexual abuse of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands worldwide.
I don't understand why there aren't more federal charges against a number of bishops for transferring known sexual predators over state lines and well as across national boundaries.
I don't know about you but I really don't want the kind of a hierarchical system that considers children as less than possessions or second class citizens, without rights to be thrown onto a dung heap but that is exactly what has been done over so many of the past decades but I can't do anything about changing the hierarchical system of the RCC any more than I can influence that of the Orthodox Jews.
I can, however, as a citizen of this country, speak out and do everything within my power to influence the legislative changes necessary to better portect ALL CHILDREN FROM ALL SEXUAL PREDATORS WHILE HOLDING INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ENABLERS AND FACILATATORS OF SUCH ABUSE ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE THE LAWS OF SOCIETY.
And victims of CSA by anyone have a right to access the judicial system, period.
For the love of all that is good and holy read some of the transcripts, depositions (try some previously SEALED, now available depositions of Philly's Cardinal Anthony Bevilaequa) and grand jury reports. I recommend Philly's 2005 AND 2011 reports.
BTW, What public positions have you taken lately on anything, Anonymous? Do let me know.
My pray for you this Advent Season, Anonymous, is that the Spirit of God opens both your eyes and your ears.
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
Maureen, Thank you for your
Maureen, Thank you for your input and your insight. The responses have certainly gotten off the topic. We all, I believe, know that sexual abuse is rampant in every walk of life. For those who brought up the women religious not being punished...they have been and it has been public. Have you read the paper regarding the one in Chicago a couple of years ago, anyone???
With few exceptions, when sexual abuse is found out in the "secular" domain, it is reported to civil authorities...it is in our paper practically every day!
The clergy/hierarchy are held to a higher bar, a higher standard of behavior and are expected to respond as such. As the bishop wrote, how can an abuser or one who covers for the abuser say Mass??? I will never understand that lack of conscience.
Dear Jeanne, RSM, Thanks for
Dear Jeanne, RSM,
Thanks for your comments.
For any of your sisters in the Boston area there is a 10th Anniversary Conference being held at the Holiday Inn, Beacon Hill, 5 Blossom St., Boston 617-742-7630. I'd be happy to meet any of them.
http://10thanniversarycelebration.blogspot.com/
Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
maturlishmdsnd@yahoo.com
The Catholic church has
The Catholic church has people convinced that they should follow bishops instead of God, and its working.
They have the congregation convinced that child rape isn't that big of a deal, that decades of forgiveness for child rapists is ok, that lying about it is ok, and that fighting the victims is appropriate.
The victims are "the least of my brothers". Bishops will have you convinced that fighting them is the God-like thing to do rather than pay for their therapy. Bishops will have you convinced that God needs big churches, big money, and $10,000 hats for the pope and bishops.
Roman Catholic leaders who DO
Roman Catholic leaders who DO NOT uphold simple ethics and morality are NOT the ones I'm going to listen to. And any organization that covers up for predators is NOT one that I will turn to for God's counsel and CERTAINLY NOT one I will support financially. In the words of my Catholic relatives, "The Church and the Vatican are not getting another dollar, not another single one, from our family. Covering up for child rapists has caused us to stop going to church. And the good thing is that in taking a moral stand and stepping away from a predatorial Catholic organization, one is able to realize that a person's relationship to God and ultimate salvation is NOT dependent on Catholic leaders and their immoral corporate ethics."
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