Investigation focuses on clerical sexual abuse, Part 2

By Taylor & Ring | September 24, 2015

One sentence in a recent media article refers to “unfettered access to young people.”

That can assuredly be a good thing where, say, an impassioned teacher is searching for new talent to challenge and mold.

In instances where clergy members are intent on committing acts of sexual abuse, though, it is obviously a disaster.

We alluded in a post earlier this week to an exhaustive investigation carried out by researchers from an online news organization. Reporters from the group GlobalPost tracked down five Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing children in parishes in the United States and Europe to churches in South America, where they relocated following those incidents having come to light.

Investigative reporters spoke directly to all of those priests, who uniformly acknowledged, as noted by the investigators, that “they have been allowed to continue preaching unfettered.”

That might surprise a number of people who closely study church history and affairs and are aware that all Catholic churches in the United States have been operating pursuant to a “zero-tolerance” policy for well more than a decade. That same policy has been passionately endorsed by Pope Francis, who sent a letter last year to every Catholic bishop in the world ordering compliance with that dictate.

Notwithstanding it, accused priests continue to work in parishes unimpeded. The GlobalPost investigation uncovered one priest now working in Paraguay who was previously accused of sexual abuse in a parish in the United States. One American bishop termed him a “serious threat to young people.” In another U.S. case, a local diocese paid a victim’s family $50,000 for the abuse he suffered at the hands of a priest. That priest now works in Peru. Yet another diocese reportedly paid one family $1 million to settle a civil lawsuit alleging that a priest had raped two brothers over an extended period., That cleric continues to be a priest, as well as an administrator, at a university in Colombia.

Sexual abuse is always a criminal act, without exception and regardless of the perpetrator. Any person who has questions or concerns regarding sexual abuse, or is a victim of such conduct, can contact a proven attorney for aggressive and diligent legal representation.

Source: USA TODAY, “U.S. priests accused of sex abuse get second chance in South America,” Will Carless (GlobalPost), Sept. 17, 2015

Posted in Sexual Abuse