SPOILER ALERT!
Priest Abuse – Overview
Clergy Abuse encompasses a wide-range of immoral and improper actions commonly commited on young children and adolescents by predatory clergy or other church members involving sexual abuse of varying amounts. The assault can be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may involve many assaults inside a continuing interaction. For example, a continuing “trusting” relationship with a child created by the predatory behavior of a clergy associate, blanketed by the trust and respect imputed to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.
Within all claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the short-coming by the Church member’s employer to completely, adequately and immediately disclose the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its continuing failure to research, cope with and resolve fully with the situation amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Church Sexual Assault cases reported in the media show these failures, that includes “pass-the-trash” situations when the perpetrator oftentimes a priest in the Catholic Church, is silently moved from one church to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice
Not a week goes by without a media headline reporting 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 articles are likely to act as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and other unwelcome thoughts harming your wellness. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage victims to disclose the abuse they experienced, victims of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime damage and injury they have experienced.
If you are a survivor of abuse perpetrated by a priest, the result of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system can be immeasurable. Regardless, holding priest abuse victim and institutions to blame for their crimes and failures may provide an amount of justice and recompense to assault victims. Commonly, survivors can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case may be filed where the plaintiff can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All abusers, to varying amounts, employ predatory tactics which are commonly referred to as grooming, focusing on a possible abuse victim. Below is a survey of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s ploy. In a church setting, the priest is viewed as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – may be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust
An assaulter will initially work to get the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign sincere interest in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will devote more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential target might receive presents from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts such as blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming escalates, the predator will work to isolate the possible target. This might mean individual counseling sessions, meals or other 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 breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the target by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the victim can be severe and life-changing. Many clergy assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the abuse 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 treatment and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Abuse may recover financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to protect the child from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are ready to speak with you.
Within all claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the short-coming by the Church member’s employer to completely, adequately and immediately disclose the crime to law enforcement and other authorities, or its continuing failure to research, cope with and resolve fully with the situation amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Church Sexual Assault cases reported in the media show these failures, that includes “pass-the-trash” situations when the perpetrator oftentimes a priest in the Catholic Church, is silently moved from one church to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice
Not a week goes by without a media headline reporting 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 articles are likely to act as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and other unwelcome thoughts harming your wellness. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage victims to disclose the abuse they experienced, victims of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime damage and injury they have experienced.
If you are a survivor of abuse perpetrated by a priest, the result of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system can be immeasurable. Regardless, holding priest abuse victim and institutions to blame for their crimes and failures may provide an amount of justice and recompense to assault victims. Commonly, survivors can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case may be filed where the plaintiff can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All abusers, to varying amounts, employ predatory tactics which are commonly referred to as grooming, focusing on a possible abuse victim. Below is a survey of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s ploy. In a church setting, the priest is viewed as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – may be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust
An assaulter will initially work to get the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign sincere interest in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will devote more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential target might receive presents from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts such as blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming escalates, the predator will work to isolate the possible target. This might mean individual counseling sessions, meals or other 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 breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the target by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the victim can be severe and life-changing. Many clergy assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the abuse 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 treatment and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Abuse may recover financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to protect the child from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are ready to speak with you.
