Priest admits having sex with inmates

[Caladan 19]

maybe i was a wee bit harsh callin him a perv but at the end of the day........ he broke his vow of celibacy.......... he should be stripped of his priesthood and ex-communicated from the catholic church.

He is not a good role model, nor are the rest of the catholic priests that partake in sexual activities, whether consent was given or not. They should be horse-whipped!!

The Catholic Church needs to re-affirm its stance on its vow of celibacy, this whole malarky is a disgrace. They try to tell us one thing but our priests do another.

The Catholic church needs to re-evaluate a lot of things, including priests & celibacy. It's silly in this day & age.

The Ctholic Church needs to wake up and smell the coffee. If they don't want the church to die out they need to face the fact that women would make good priests as would married men. These ideas thay had way back when no longer apply to life today. The Catholics need to evolve!

And before anyone jumps all over me, I am a Catholic.

I'll jump anyway. The Catholic Church isn't the only religion with a celibate clergy; do you hold this opinion for other religions, too? It's not the only religion with an exclusively male clergy; do they need to evolve?

I think there are good reasons for ordaining women and married people, but the church seems to catch more than it's fair share of blame, like the problem with the guy in the article isn't that he abused a position of power, but that he just needed to get his rocks off. Because married men never, ever abuse positions of power.. Uh.

--

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

Edit: Also, there are clergy in the Catholic Church who can be married...as with my father who has been an ordained Deacon for over 30 years. There are many duties that he can do like priests can, but not everything a priest can do.

Edited November 16, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[almaty 19]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

and the rehab efforts are nil...less than 15% change their pattern

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

and the rehab efforts are nil...less than 15% change their pattern

That is tragic, given that most of them were sexually abused as children themselves.

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

On the front forums page I read this:

In: Priest admits having sex with ...

By: Jomo's girl

I thought to myself "Blimey, I thought she was married!". B)

[almaty 19]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

and the rehab efforts are nil...less than 15% change their pattern

That is tragic, given that most of them were sexually abused as children themselves.

i stated previous log ago, when i worked in kansas correwctions they had a research project with a group out of arizona..they used state of the art therapy .Patrck Carnes model, etc... 40 hours of counseling a week for 1 year...85% repeated after less than 2 years..( note: those were the ones caught and convicted)//worse rehab rate than any ohter addicitve/obessive behavior

[*julez* 124]

maybe i was a wee bit harsh callin him a perv but at the end of the day........ he broke his vow of celibacy.......... he should be stripped of his priesthood and ex-communicated from the catholic church.

He is not a good role model, nor are the rest of the catholic priests that partake in sexual activities, whether consent was given or not. They should be horse-whipped!!

The Catholic Church needs to re-affirm its stance on its vow of celibacy, this whole malarky is a disgrace. They try to tell us one thing but our priests do another.

The Catholic church needs to re-evaluate a lot of things, including priests & celibacy. It's silly in this day & age.

The Ctholic Church needs to wake up and smell the coffee. If they don't want the church to die out they need to face the fact that women would make good priests as would married men. These ideas thay had way back when no longer apply to life today. The Catholics need to evolve!

And before anyone jumps all over me, I am a Catholic.

I'll jump anyway. The Catholic Church isn't the only religion with a celibate clergy; do you hold this opinion for other religions, too? It's not the only religion with an exclusively male clergy; do they need to evolve?

I think there are good reasons for ordaining women and married people, but the church seems to catch more than it's fair share of blame, like the problem with the guy in the article isn't that he abused a position of power, but that he just needed to get his rocks off. Because married men never, ever abuse positions of power.. Uh.

--

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

Honestly, I don't feel qualified to comment on what goes on in some other religions. As a person raised Catholic and who attended Catholic school I do believe that if the Catholic Church want to keep members from straying from the flock, they need some updating of the church tenants. I'm not saying that a married man, or a female priest would be immune from abusing power or making poor choices. And my comments weren't really a commentary about the priest in question, but more of an offshoot of an observation made by devilette that the church needs to re-evaluate some things. The Catholic church's stance on divorce and birth control is archaic. Its issues like these that drive people away. Divorcees are welcomed at Episcopal church's and can remarry in the church. As a Catholic, I see parishes in my area closing and consolidating all the time. The churches are half empty and those that are there tend to be elderly. If the Catholic church wants to retain members and even grow again, they need to make some extreme changes.

As for the priest in the story, well, he succumbed to the temptation of the flesh and should be excommunicated. He did make a vow, which he has violated.

[Carlawarla 1]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

and the rehab efforts are nil...less than 15% change their pattern

That is tragic, given that most of them were sexually abused as children themselves.

Pedophiles MAY seek out jobs or careers that allow them access to children, but not necessarily so.

Your comment about the rehab efforts for pedophilia are pretty accurate. Again, let me state that pedophilia is a VERY very small portion of sexual offenders. We just hear about them more. The recidivism rate for sexual offenders (in Canada) is less than 3%. This doesn't include pedophiles. In my 25 years of working with sexual offenders, 80% did not go to prison, all but a few received treatment WILLINGLY and in the first study done in Canada in which I participated, there was NO recidivism in my province in 7 years.

There have been lots of studies about sexual offenders and them being victims themselves. I'm not negating the effect of sexual abuse on males, however 96 percent of sexual offenders are men, and 91% of victims are females, and female children. So, that right there should tell us something...

I retired from my work this year, and have no written material with me at the moment, but I will tell you about one study where sex offenders sentenced to prison in Texas were asked upon admission if they had been victims of sexual abuse as a child. The study stated that 80% initially said they were. One month later, they were again asked, and told that they would be given a lie detector test to confirm/deny their statement. The number of sex offenders who came clean, dropped the number to less than 20%. AFTER the lie detector test, the number revealed to be less than 4%, which was later confirmed by the participants who admitted they had lied. Asked why they lied, they stated that a) that's what they "heard" about people who committed those types of offences and B) that it would help them in their court case by gaining sympathy from jurors and the press c) it allowed them to explain their behaviour which was abhorant to them.

Sorry for rambling...I guess I just wanted to point out that there are many myths about sex offenders so hopefully you can debunk them when talking to others.

Carla

Edited November 16, 2007 by cartoboy123

[no name 1]

maybe i was a wee bit harsh callin him a perv but at the end of the day........ he broke his vow of celibacy.......... he should be stripped of his priesthood and ex-communicated from the catholic church.

He is not a good role model, nor are the rest of the catholic priests that partake in sexual activities, whether consent was given or not. They should be horse-whipped!!

The Catholic Church needs to re-affirm its stance on its vow of celibacy, this whole malarky is a disgrace. They try to tell us one thing but our priests do another.

The Catholic church needs to re-evaluate a lot of things, including priests & celibacy. It's silly in this day & age.

The Ctholic Church needs to wake up and smell the coffee. If they don't want the church to die out they need to face the fact that women would make good priests as would married men. These ideas thay had way back when no longer apply to life today. The Catholics need to evolve!

And before anyone jumps all over me, I am a Catholic.

I'll jump anyway. The Catholic Church isn't the only religion with a celibate clergy; do you hold this opinion for other religions, too? It's not the only religion with an exclusively male clergy; do they need to evolve?

I think there are good reasons for ordaining women and married people, but the church seems to catch more than it's fair share of blame, like the problem with the guy in the article isn't that he abused a position of power, but that he just needed to get his rocks off. Because married men never, ever abuse positions of power.. Uh.

--

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

Honestly, I don't feel qualified to comment on what goes on in some other religions. As a person raised Catholic and who attended Catholic school I do believe that if the Catholic Church want to keep members from straying from the flock, they need some updating of the church tenants. I'm not saying that a married man, or a female priest would be immune from abusing power or making poor choices. And my comments weren't really a commentary about the priest in question, but more of an offshoot of an observation made by devilette that the church needs to re-evaluate some things. The Catholic church's stance on divorce and birth control is archaic. Its issues like these that drive people away. Divorcees are welcomed at Episcopal church's and can remarry in the church. As a Catholic, I see parishes in my area closing and consolidating all the time. The churches are half empty and those that are there tend to be elderly. If the Catholic church wants to retain members and even grow again, they need to make some extreme changes.

As for the priest in the story, well, he succumbed to the temptation of the flesh and should be excommunicated. He did make a vow, which he has violated.

very well said Julez!

[Ban Hammer 13,347]

I retired from my work this year, and have no written material with me at the moment, but I will tell you about one study where sex offenders sentenced to prison in Texas were asked upon admission if they had been victims of sexual abuse as a child. The study stated that 80% initially said they were. One month later, they were again asked, and told that they would be given a lie detector test to confirm/deny their statement. The number of sex offenders who came clean, dropped the number to less than 20%. AFTER the lie detector test, the number revealed to be less than 4%, which was later confirmed by the participants who admitted they had lied. Asked why they lied, they stated that a) that's what they "heard" about people who committed those types of offences and B) that it would help them in their court case by gaining sympathy from jurors and the press c) it allowed them to explain their behaviour which was abhorant to them.

Sorry for rambling...I guess I just wanted to point out that there are many myths about sex offenders so hopefully you can debunk them when talking to others.

Carla

that is quite interesting. i've often wondered if that was true, it appears it is not.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Way back to Steven: statistically the presence of pedophiles in the priesthood is no greater than in the population at large. It's horrible and disgusting and wrong, but a guy who is a pedophile isn't going to straighten up just because he's married, y'know?

I totally agree with that. From what I understand though is that typically, pedophiles will seek out jobs or careers where they'll have the trust and respect of their potential victims.

and the rehab efforts are nil...less than 15% change their pattern

That is tragic, given that most of them were sexually abused as children themselves.

Pedophiles MAY seek out jobs or careers that allow them access to children, but not necessarily so.

Your comment about the rehab efforts for pedophilia are pretty accurate. Again, let me state that pedophilia is a VERY very small portion of sexual offenders. We just hear about them more. The recidivism rate for sexual offenders (in Canada) is less than 3%. This doesn't include pedophiles. In my 25 years of working with sexual offenders, 80% did not go to prison, all but a few received treatment WILLINGLY and in the first study done in Canada in which I participated, there was NO recidivism in my province in 7 years.

There have been lots of studies about sexual offenders and them being victims themselves. I'm not negating the effect of sexual abuse on males, however 96 percent of sexual offenders are men, and 91% of victims are females, and female children. So, that right there should tell us something...

I retired from my work this year, and have no written material with me at the moment, but I will tell you about one study where sex offenders sentenced to prison in Texas were asked upon admission if they had been victims of sexual abuse as a child. The study stated that 80% initially said they were. One month later, they were again asked, and told that they would be given a lie detector test to confirm/deny their statement. The number of sex offenders who came clean, dropped the number to less than 20%. AFTER the lie detector test, the number revealed to be less than 4%, which was later confirmed by the participants who admitted they had lied. Asked why they lied, they stated that a) that's what they "heard" about people who committed those types of offences and B) that it would help them in their court case by gaining sympathy from jurors and the press c) it allowed them to explain their behaviour which was abhorant to them.

Sorry for rambling...I guess I just wanted to point out that there are many myths about sex offenders so hopefully you can debunk them when talking to others.

Carla

Very interesting, Carla. Is there any medical hypothesis besides the 'victim becomes the perpetrator' as to how these monsters become what they are?

[Carlawarla 1]

No medical hypothesis at all. It's about attitudes, beliefs, values....

Most sexual offenders have a history of blaming others for their problems, and objectifying women and children. Inappropriate sexual fantasies and masturbating to those fantasies fuel further inappropriate fantasies. Our TV and media are rife with objectifying women and children.

I'm not being disrespectful here, but it's really easy to say "these people" are "monsters", when in fact most sexual offenders cross all economic and social levels. In fact, most of my clients were white, employed married men, between 30 and 45 of age. Not perhaps who you "typically" think these people are. Again, the media/press play up the pediophile cases, kidnapping etc. but they are relatively few in comparison to all the other sexual offending that is occuring in our community. Most sexual offenders are brothers, fathers, the local policeman, the baker, the teacher, the kindly neighbour. There is no outward appearance that would suggest you should be aware of anyone. Nor can you live your life wondering if everyone you meet is a potential offender. The story about the guy in the trench coat hanging out at the park...is not what people should be educating their kids about. Another myth is that most sexual offenders commit offences when they've been drinking. While alcohol can lower inhibitions, it's never an excuse to offend. In fact, most of my clients did not have ANY abuse issues ie. alcohol or drugs.

Most of my clients told me a history of fathers that were disrespectful of women, ie. commenting on their body parts while watching TV with their children. Often there was pornography laying around the home. The "boys will be boys" stuff is often the first attempt for some men to begin excusing their inappropriate behaviour. Locker rooms are notorious for perpetuating the myths about men, women, relationships and sex. I could go on and on...

I'm not defending these people at all. I do know though that people can receive appropriate treatment and never offend again. I saw some guys really do extremely well in treatment and have a whole new set of values and beliefs by treatment end. Support and followup are always necessary, but most can live an offence free life with the proper community supports. That includes friends, family and neighbours, who know about the offending, dont' condone it, and are prepared to confront the offender if they see him going down the same "path". The committment to report someone to the police is an absolute if ever they think a child is in danger. It works.

Carla