Monday, December 11, 2006.
Well, it's been so long since I've written anything that it disappeared! Of course it was so long ago that the Catholic priest scandal was at its apex, at least here in Philly. I think I wrote something about the Grand Jury report. That was a pretty upsetting thing and the diocese' response was even more disturbing. The diocese pretty much conveyed the idea that the Jewish D.A. had it out for the Church. Crazy.
One thing to note about all that is that there was only one priest actually prosecuted for a sexual crime; the rest had the statute of limitations on their side, although a few were tossed from the priesthood. But the priest who was prosecuted is a man I knew pretty well. No, he didn't do anything sexual with me. But he did have a fairly long term "affair" with a (now) young man, which began when the fella was in high school. Obviously, it had a negative impact on the kid.
They were able to prosecute this priest because he had left Philadelphia while the statute of limitations was still open, so time in effect was stopped. I certainly think he was wrong to do what he did, having myself been similarly victimized by a much older religious. But the sad thing is that this priest was essentially a good man. I feel that, like the man who seduced me, Father N. was blinded by his strong feelings, which resulted in his refusal to look at the situation clearly and see it as the manipulative thing it was. I don't let him off the hook, but I understand how he could do it. And I really understand how the kid went along with it. You can not imagine the emotional paralysis that sets in and the feeling that, in your shame, you are to blame for what happened and that there is no one who can help you out of the situation. That shame stays with you forever, I think, and requires a lot of work to be able to forgive yourself and go on with your life, wounded as you are. I know we all have our wounds but I think the situation that produces this kind of wound is particularly devastating.
Not to cut such a serious topic short, but all I wanted to do was fill in what I remember last writing about. There's a whole lot, both personally and in the larger world, that has happened since that last posting. I hope to continue posting on a more regular basis and hope that some dialogue will occur.
Well, it's been so long since I've written anything that it disappeared! Of course it was so long ago that the Catholic priest scandal was at its apex, at least here in Philly. I think I wrote something about the Grand Jury report. That was a pretty upsetting thing and the diocese' response was even more disturbing. The diocese pretty much conveyed the idea that the Jewish D.A. had it out for the Church. Crazy.
One thing to note about all that is that there was only one priest actually prosecuted for a sexual crime; the rest had the statute of limitations on their side, although a few were tossed from the priesthood. But the priest who was prosecuted is a man I knew pretty well. No, he didn't do anything sexual with me. But he did have a fairly long term "affair" with a (now) young man, which began when the fella was in high school. Obviously, it had a negative impact on the kid.
They were able to prosecute this priest because he had left Philadelphia while the statute of limitations was still open, so time in effect was stopped. I certainly think he was wrong to do what he did, having myself been similarly victimized by a much older religious. But the sad thing is that this priest was essentially a good man. I feel that, like the man who seduced me, Father N. was blinded by his strong feelings, which resulted in his refusal to look at the situation clearly and see it as the manipulative thing it was. I don't let him off the hook, but I understand how he could do it. And I really understand how the kid went along with it. You can not imagine the emotional paralysis that sets in and the feeling that, in your shame, you are to blame for what happened and that there is no one who can help you out of the situation. That shame stays with you forever, I think, and requires a lot of work to be able to forgive yourself and go on with your life, wounded as you are. I know we all have our wounds but I think the situation that produces this kind of wound is particularly devastating.
Not to cut such a serious topic short, but all I wanted to do was fill in what I remember last writing about. There's a whole lot, both personally and in the larger world, that has happened since that last posting. I hope to continue posting on a more regular basis and hope that some dialogue will occur.
posted by mikekev58 at 8:05 AM
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