SPOILER ALERT!
Clergy Assault – Overview
Church Abuse includes a wide-range of illegal and unacceptable behaviors frequently commited on young children and tweens by predatory priests or other church members involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The sexual assault can be a single, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it may involve several acts within an ongoing interaction. For example, a continuing “trusting” relationship with a child created by the predatory behavior of a clergy associate, cloaked by the trust and respect imputed to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual abuse acts of molestation.
In all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Clergy member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its continuing failure to investigate, contend with and deal fully with the situation amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others. Current Priest Sexual Assault cases reported in the media uncover these failures, which includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the predator commonly a clergy in the Catholic Church, is suddenly transferred from one parish to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unsuspecting parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse and Justice
Not a day passes without a media headline coverage about sexual assault and molestation of young children by pedophile clergy, or the legacy of the assault on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these stories are most likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, shame, guilt and various unwelcome feelings harming your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage victims to disclose the assault they experienced, survivors of assault are increasingly turning to the legal system to compensate them for the lifelong harm and injury they have experienced.
If you are a victim of abuse commited by a member of the church, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system can be immeasurable. Regardless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference may provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Commonly, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case may be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods that are commonly referred to as grooming, tracking a potential assault victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
brooklyn priest abuse is a significant piece of a predator’s strategy. In a religious setting, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within this environment, the predator often works closely with small numbers of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a victim is identified, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – may be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
A predator will initially try 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 predator can feign genuine concern in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family, 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 child will spend 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 presents like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
While grooming escalates, the predator will try to isolate the possible target. This could mean solo counseling sessions, meals or various methods of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator may start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to determine 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 work to keep control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the target by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood assault on the victim can be severe and life-altering. Many 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 treatment and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Priest Sexual Abuse can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more commonly, from the religious organization for its failure to protect the child from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 prepared to talk with you.
In all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Clergy member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately report the crime to police and other authorities, or its continuing failure to investigate, contend with and deal fully with the situation amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others. Current Priest Sexual Assault cases reported in the media uncover these failures, which includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the predator commonly a clergy in the Catholic Church, is suddenly transferred from one parish to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unsuspecting parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse and Justice
Not a day passes without a media headline coverage about sexual assault and molestation of young children by pedophile clergy, or the legacy of the assault on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these stories are most likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, shame, guilt and various unwelcome feelings harming your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage victims to disclose the assault they experienced, survivors of assault are increasingly turning to the legal system to compensate them for the lifelong harm and injury they have experienced.
If you are a victim of abuse commited by a member of the church, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system can be immeasurable. Regardless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference may provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Commonly, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case may be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods that are commonly referred to as grooming, tracking a potential assault victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
brooklyn priest abuse is a significant piece of a predator’s strategy. In a religious setting, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within this environment, the predator often works closely with small numbers of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a victim is identified, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – may be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
A predator will initially try 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 predator can feign genuine concern in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family, 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 child will spend 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 presents like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
While grooming escalates, the predator will try to isolate the possible target. This could mean solo counseling sessions, meals or various methods of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator may start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and other actions that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to determine 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 work to keep control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the target by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood assault on the victim can be severe and life-altering. Many 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 treatment and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Priest Sexual Abuse can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more commonly, from the religious organization for its failure to protect the child from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 prepared to talk with you.
