And then, of course, there is the case of revenge. What better way to vent your anger against a priest than accuse him of being a sexual predator who molested you years ago. No one can prove it didn't happen, and an accusation these days is as good as a conviction. What a sweet revenge for troubled individual who has fabricated an injury by a priest who may have done nothing more than speak a hard truth in love.
The cases of child abuse are horrifying and I've read several books about them, but that doesn't mean all priests are guilty or that there aren't liars who will take advantage of a feeding frenzy to get a free handout.
Who is defending the rights of priests? Not their bishops!
I've been reading the accounts of the trial and conviction of Fr. Gordon MacRae who has spent 16 years in prison for an accusation of sex abuse that he denies. He refused a plea bargain that would have given him a reduced term in exchange for pleading guilty. He could have been out of jail thirteen years ago by saying two little words, "I'm guilty." It's hard to imagine that a guilty priest, a sex abuser in fact, would remain in prison for years rather than admit guilt. What does he have to gain? More prison time. Even parole is linked to an admission of guilt. I have no way to know whether Father is guilty or innocent, but I find it hard to believe a guilty man would cling to innocence when he had so much to gain by pleading guilty.
There are no doubt innocent priests in prison or suspended. Some were advised by diocesan lawyers to avoid trials and minimize settlements by accepting plea bargains admitting guilt, even when they were innocent. (That actually happened to me after an arrest at a Catholic church where Call to Action was meeting.) I also know a priest in that situation. In many cases, dioceses would rather settle than engage in litigation to defend their priests. What do you think they would do if the accused was the bishop?
Pray for all innocent priests who are suffering like Our Savior, falsely accused and executed for our sins. May their sufferings be joined to His on the cross in atonement for the sins of the world.
Lawyer Says Many Accusations Against Priests Are False
The Macabre Case of Fr. Gordon MacRae
Priests in Limbo
Scales of justice weighted against American Catholic priests
Abuse-victims' lawyer takes out TV ads seeking new clients
I am very grateful to Mary Ann for mentioning my case and These Stone Walls in this excellent post. The situation involving Fr. Corapi now leads many people to realize that priests are not only being accused, they are being targeted. It is ironic that those being targeted are orthodox priests who speak out clearly about the Church's pro-life agenda. These claims should be seen as suspect absent clear proof, and so far I haven't seen anything that proves such allegations. The Church very much need people like you to witness to the truth and to open the eyes of Catholics everywhere about the true injustice going on.
ReplyDeleteWith blessings,
Fr. Gordon MacRae
While I have no doubt that there are some falsely accused priests, there are also a lot of true stories and stories that contain elements of truth but perhaps aren't really 'abuse' but inappropriate behavior. I had two priests act inappropriately toward me and other high-school-aged friends when we were in youth group in the 1980s. Nothing that was ever reported, but definitely not OK, especially in retrospect. We were too young and naive to know that what happened wasn't right. One of the priests left the priesthood and married our choir director. It was quite the scandal, but I remember my grandmother saying that she could tell he liked the ladies too mch to be a priest. The other one has since been accused of more than just inappropriate behavior by a girl who was several years younger than me. I don't doubt that what she said happened did because it was just a step further than what he did to me. It is too easy to be lead astray by those who you are told to trust and confide in, which is why every accusation needs to be investigated thoroughly. I never thought twice about being alone with a priest but would never, ever let my kids do that today.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous is correct that there are true claims, of course, however it is simply not realistic to believe that all these claims against priests are being investigated. I read a three part series, "When Priests are Falsely Accused" by Fr. Gordon MacRae, and if you Google the title you will find it. I was horrified to read his first-hand evidence that dioceses are settling these claims all over the country with no investigation at all, no corroboration of whether the accusation even could have happened, and it is all shocking and very unjust. Just today, I was told by a 74 yr. old priest friend that he has been accused in a demand for settlement money by a person he has never heard of and the accusation is from 1967. How could there be any investigation? His diocese is on the way to settling this, and it will be declared "credible" without any investigation at all. No bishop wants to be seen as throwing money at a case that he doesn't believe is true, so they settle everything.
ReplyDelete