Tue, Jan 19, 2010
RITE AND REASON: “Paul”, who suffered clerical sex abuse, explains why he believes the Catholic Church has failed properly to deal with the problem in its midst.
I AM writing because I know why the church hid the abusers and is still evasive about blaming the perpetrators and the people who hid them.
Naturally I am a victim, so I am limited by the anger I feel, but also it seems I am unique in remembering the most important aspect of it all, the aspect that explains everything.
My priest (abuser) has the distinction of being the highest placed individual that I am aware of as having been accused. He is dead many years.
I want to remain anonymous because I do not want a label attached to myself. Understand, I am not shamed in any way, but that is not who I am and I don’t want all my actions or inactions explained away with reference to the abuse I experienced.
The reason why the church covered up the abuse and moved priests about is because they did not blame the priests, they blamed the children. With this knowledge observe the reaction of church authorities. They
look as if they would like to say it, but can’t.
And that is it. They can’t because they believe society is now over-sentimental about children and they would not be understood. This was confirmed to me when I met an old priest tucked away in a nursing
home despite the fact he was not unwell.
At one point he suggested Cardinal Ó Fiaich should be canonised, I rejected the idea, pointing out he was involved in the cover-up of abuse.
The old priest said: “People should forgive him, after all we are prepared to forgive the children.” I asked: “Forgive the children what?”
He replied: “Their share of the blame.” Of course in that moment I realised he was himself an abuser, hidden away there.
In my own case the priest treated the abuse as punishment for some contrived wrongdoing by me. Afterwards he would recoil, claiming that I was the cause of it and he was merely a weak sinner who had been tempted by me.
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