Priest Abuse includes a range of illegal and heinous actions often perpetrated against kids and adolescents by pedophilic clergy or other church employees involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The abuse might be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it can include several acts within an ongoing interaction. For example, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a young child created by the predatory intent of a clergy member, blanketed by the trust and respect provided to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.
Within most claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the failure by the Church member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately report the offense to police and other authorities, or its continuing failure to research, handle and deal entirely with the occurrence amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others. Recent Priest Sexual Assault cases reported in the media show these short-comings, that includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the perpetrator commonly a priest in the Catholic Church, is suddenly re-assigned from one parish to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unaware parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault & Justice Not a week goes by without a media headline reporting regarding sexual abuse and molestation of young children by pedophile priests, or the effects of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a victim of sexual assault from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to serve as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and other unwanted feelings hurting your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage victims to reveal the assault they suffered, victims of assault are increasingly turning to the legal system to compensate them for the life-long harm and injury they have suffered.
If you are a victim of abuse perpetrated by a member of the clergy, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system can be immeasurable. Regardless, holding the responsible person and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference might provide an amount of justice and recompense to assault victims. Commonly, victims can leverage their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is necessary, a motion can be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Abusive Behavior All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory methods that are commonly referred to as grooming, targeting a possible assault victim. Below is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority relative to the subordinate child.
Grooming Grooming is a major part of a predator’s strategy. In a religious setting, the clergy member is held as God’s representative. In this environment, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust A predator will first work to gain the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as church communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can feign genuine interest in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential child-victim and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The child will devote increased time with the predator, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible target might receive presents from the predator, including valuable, intangible gifts such as blessings and special recognition. Isolation While grooming progresses, the predator will try to isolate the possible victim. This could mean single counseling sessions, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated encounters. Sexualization The predator will begin to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. clergy abuse Massachusetts until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature. Maintenance As the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continued interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the target by whatever means necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood abuse on the survivor can be severe and life-changing. Several clergy assault survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Assault can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more frequently, from the religious organization for its failure to protect the victim from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding to reports of assault. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your experience and your legal options, we are prepared to speak with you.
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