religionlost wrote:Joe,
This anonymous poster won't be anonymous forever...trust me. Ask yourself why it takes so long for victims to come out and what the statute of limitations is all about. At this point the Catholic church lobbies and uses tons of your money to keep the statute of limitations from lifting like other states. Oh they are so friggin scared of all of us victims. It is hilarious.
Here is why victims stay quiet and anonymous - they don't want to hurt their families unnecessarily. I love my mother and father and I hate the idea that they are going to be hurt when they hear what was done to me, but honestly I cannnot go another year while my mother goes to church and puts her hard earned money in the basket for which the Catholic church will hand over to the legal bruts who will try to keep the tide from cresting. There is a "Victims Advocate" that is full-time with the Camden Diocese. She was named to the diocese in 2002 and she is employed to discuss with victims that they are beyond the statute of limitations, there is no money, and there is therapy provided by the ministry. Oh yes, just what everyone needs therapy from the ministry. Barbara Gondek is an employee that is there to protect the church and the church alone. She is not an advocate for victims that is for damn sure. I am proof positive of that one.
When looking for help from abuse the very first thing that you want to hear is "there is no money, there is a statute of limitations" word for word. She is as disgraceful as the church. Victims have kept there secrets for long periods of time because of shame and guilt and being lost. That woman and diocese look to prolong the shame, guilt and inadequacy that is always present in a victim. They have it down pat. This anonymous victim will not always be anonymous and you will understand that the Catholic Church has not done anything to protect you or its parishioners. It is a business pure and simple. Did you give your tythe this week. That is their goal.....how much more money do they need.
If you had an audit you would see that the legal bills far surpasss the amount given to the poor, underprivileged, and sick. This would not happen if they took responsibility in the first place and got rid of these people.
Joe, you are ready to hide your head in the sand. This information is public, just investigate. Investigate the materials on the RICO case where 12 priests moved from parish to parish molesting children. You really think that someone is not responsible in the top for keeping a known child molestor in the priesthood from 1979 through 2002? How stupid could you be? It is on file, legal file. South Jersey - look it up. Look up Umberto Carta who retired in 1981 after being told by a parent that a Father abused their child. You can pretend all you want, but the stuff I have learned in the last two years tells it all. It is massive and it continues. It is no different than the Penn State issue - protect the institution above all else.
Small minds must follow a herd off the cliff and you are prepared to do just that, Joe. Do you have any children? I have a daughter who turned 9 in January. You can be damn sure that she won't attend CCD and she will never be alone with a priest - oh wait - I wasn't even alone with him. Oh what a story to make up and who has the friggin time. You are so blinded because somehow you believe that it is the minority of pedofiles and not the majority.
I ask you this....how many men do you know that search out a career where they have to be asexual. Really? Think hard about all or your male friends and female friends and think how many could actually be asexual. As animals, it is practically impossible. So who goes into this career now-a-days? I won't say that all are pedofiles and dysfunctional, but I would venture to say that it is the majority. Why? Because the "married to Jesus" thing is utter nonsense. The only reason priests are not allowed to marry is because in 800 AD the priests were afraid for their land and needed a way to keep the barons second and third sons from joining the monastery and land grabbing. It was a financial decision that has led to thousands of years of encouraging the lost and dysfunctional to a safe haven. A safe haven for which they can do improper and illegal things.
Joe, have you heard of the Congregation of Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs, New Mexico? Sounds like a great parish, doesn't it. Does the sound of it make you warm and fuzzy. It is the parish that diocese across the country for decades (including the Camden Diocese) sent their pedofile priests for "treatment" - Not "treatment for improprieties", treatment for crimes - treatment for molesting and raping children. Here is the kicker, while the priests were going there for "treatment" they were assigned to tribes to spread the word of god to the children. So,these priests had ample opportunity to molest the Indian children while they were attending the treatment facility.
I know the priest who molested me was there, because he shared pictures of his special friends. He would sit at the bulletin board with his arm around my waist and point out the lovely Indian girls aged 8-12 that he helped find God. He was so damn proud. And sadly enough so are you. You are so ready to rally the cry that everyone in the Catholic Church is innocent that you are the one that immediately says that every victim is a piece of cr&p. Well, I am not a piece of crap. I am a wonderful person raising wonderful children, who know the rule that every parent should share. If someone ever does touch you, sweetie, it will never be your fault and mommy and daddy will make sure that everything is ok. Here is the parents biggest flaw in educating their children - Kids, no one is allowed to touch you in your private places. That is your private place and no one can touch it, okay - Okay - hug hug - So, when unexpectedly an adult touches that child, do you think the first thought is to tell mommy and daddy. No, just the opposite, especially when it is a man respected by the parents and in a position of power. Oh yes, the power of the pulpit can be a very dangerous thing. Although I have no respect for your simple little mind, Joe, if you have young children, I advice you to have the right conversation with your children to protect them.
However the way you slam the victims and those that may of may not be victims...I wonder.....are you married? Are you a priest maybe? Are you lost? It takes a really strong and confident person to open up their mind to something so big and as powerful as to question those we do respect (institutions and people). I love myself and I have protected my family for a long time, but since I was sacrificed by the church, I am ready to take a stand for myself and for the future of our children....all of our children - yours and mine. My daughter and yours deserves to have a wonderful life ahead of them. The idea that you can't see how many children were sacrificed over the last few hundreds of years by the Catholic Church is amazing. The settlements are so numerous and that is but a fraction.
Open your mind, Joe, and your laptop. Look it up.....it is not hidden as well as you think. The Paraclete, all of the stories. SNAP is there to help those that cannot help themselves. I don't need them, but many do. I am thankful that there is an organization fighting for the children of the future. See you have it wrong, you think that SNAP is just fighting for the past victims of false victims, but the only way to change the future is to settle and make good on the misdeeds of the past. To fight these issues and protect the statute is just saying that they are going to continue to do what they have been doing, protecting the institution and the predators of the past and future. It really does not make much sense.
The Catholic Church should work to help with the relief of the statute, settle their pending cases, do a clean sweep of all questionable priests, bishops, etc. Then allow priests to marry so that you are not attracting only the men looking for an asexual position - once again of power. Power is so dangerous to begin with / without introducing dysfunction.
I know all if this is awfully big for you, Joe, and we probably can't expect one so limited and "in-line" to educate himself on the real facts. You are a bully who feels that you know it all. Well your posts show that you know nothing, but keep your head it the sand, it is safe for you there. For us that have bigger goals, bigger expectations for those around us as well as ourselves, for those of us that want to protect the children into the future, I will keep my head up and I will march on knowing that eventually the Catholic Church will be crushed by the truth. Not because the could not change things, but because they refuse to change things......head in the sand, Joe.....head in the sand.
Thanks for the support from the other poster. It helps. Every little bit of support helps.
Well, let's be honest.
First, the RICO claims against the Camden diocese were dismissed. The case was then settled AFTER RICO's claims were dismissed.
Second, the incident you referenced happened 32 years ago. The statute of limitations exists to prevent untimely assertions of claims, because after a significant lapse of time, the law recognizes that it is impossible to hold a fair proceeding. The statute of limitations for child molestation cases is forgiving enough, extending years into a person's adult life in recognition that it is difficult for a child or even young adult to come forward.
Third, I have no reason to believe or disbelieve you. But I don't trust SNAP. It has shown a propensity for dishonesty and distortion and it works hand in hand (suspiciously) with the plaintiffs' lawyers. Also the fact that you resort to calling me names and putting me down doesn't help your credibility.
When the news of the Boston scandals broke years ago, I became involved with Voice of the Faithful, and we originally worked closely with SNAP. But its distortions and manipulations became so evident that many in Voice of the Faithful eventually disassociated with these two groups. You see, my opinions of what is going on is not second hand, it is based on my own first-hand observations. What I saw was that many people who were associated with these groups had an agenda, and that agenda did not include doing what was needed to be done to protect the children. Conservatives in the VOTF were trying to pin all the blame on homosexuals within the priesthood, while others were trying to utilize the groups as litigation organs in order to inflame public opinion without regard to any careful review of facts. Ironically, both of these groups got their way, but a lot of the truth was swallowed in the process.
Fourth, the plaintiffs' bar and its professionals have engaged repeatedly manufactured "repressed memory" claims. You would have thought that the incident in which Steven Cook acknowledged the falsity of his claims against Cardinal Bernardin, and cited the influence of his attorneys and psychologists in creating the "repressed memory," might have placed such claims under greater scrutiny. But SNAP has successfully created a witch-hunt mentality in which anyone who says that claims of abuse need to be carefully scrutinized, and held to the same standards of the law as any other claims, are called "stupid" and "with small minds." Oh, and these incendiary websites still list Cardinal Bernandin as an "accused," even though his accuser outright denied the accusation. That's another problem with these websites from which you get information. Even when a clergy member is outright cleared, this is never acknowledged. A charge is always true, in your eyes -- even when the accuser recants.
Fifth, your fictional history of the Catholic Church is the typical falsehoods, and your attack on the priesthood is the usual nonsense. You assert falsely that the priesthood is some haven for sexual predators, even though every objective study affirms that the rate of abuse by Catholic priests is lower than abuse by general society. Again, SNAP has created such a firestorm that it has successfully stymied serious study and consideration of the issue of child abuse, who does it, and why.
Actually the most encouraging thing (ignored by the media) is that a court has recently granted church lawyers access to internal records of SNAP. In time, I suspect it will be demonstrated that SNAP conducts itself much the way that the plaintiff's asbestos bar conducted business with respect to coaching "victims" and witnesses. The parallels that can be observed in how the groups operate(d) are numerous.
