Church Abuse includes a range of immoral and unacceptable behaviors often commited on children and adolescents by pedophilic priests or other church employees involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The abuse may be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may include many acts inside a continuing interaction. For example, an ongoing “trusting” interaction with a child created by the predatory behavior of a church associate, cloaked by the trust and reverence provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual assault acts of molestation.
Within nearly all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Church member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately report the offense to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further failure to research, address and resolve fully with the situation increases the effects on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others. Recent Church Sexual Abuse cases reported in the press uncover these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the perpetrator oftentimes a clergy in the Catholic Church, is quietly re-assigned from one location to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an unsuspecting parish community.
church lawsuit Texas and Clergy Sexual Abuse and Retribution Not a day passes without a media announcement coverage about sexual abuse and molestation of children by pedophile clergy, or the effects of the abuse on the survivors and their families. If you are a victim of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these stories are likely to act as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and other unwanted feelings staining your wellness. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage survivors to reveal the abuse they suffered, victims of assault are increasingly turning to the legal system to compensate them for the life-long harm and injury they have experienced.
If you are a victim of assault commited by a priest, the result 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 failures might provide an amount of justice and recompense to assault survivors. Frequently, victims can leverage their legal rights through confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is required, a case may be filed where the plaintiff can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory tactics that are generally referred to as grooming, aiming at a potential assault victim. Below is a list of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
Grooming Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a church environment, the priest is revered as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator often works closely with small numbers of children, understanding each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a victim is identified, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust An assaulter will initially try to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as church communities are frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign genuine interest in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator establishes 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 victim may spend increased time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive presents from the predator, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition. Isolation While grooming continues, the predator may try to isolate the possible victim. This could result in individual counseling meetings, meals or other methods of one-on-one isolated moments. Sexualization The predator may start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various actions that lead to sexual interaction. This might begin with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature. Maintenance As the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control over the child and the continued interaction. The priest will likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever methods needed to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the survivor can be severe and life-altering. Several clergy abuse 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 creating and maintaining healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Abuse may gain financial compensation from the predator and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to protect the child from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method of reviewing and responding to reports of abuse. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your experience and your legal options, we are ready to talk with you.
|