BishopAccountability.org
	False Memory or the Real Thing? Debate Swirls over Possible False Accusations Spirit Daily [United States] August 17, 2005 There were quite a few reactions on both sides of the debate when it came to our recent concern that at least some of the abuse claims against Catholic priests may be false. We hold this concern at a time when the devil is very active (and certainly likely to target priests before anyone). This would be in keeping with persecution. And if only five or ten percent of the abuse charges are false (or exaggerated), it's certainly worth bringing to light. Can you imagine being a priest for fifty years and then having someone come out of the blue to say that you abused him or her three decades before -- and you didn't? It certainly is enough to keep men out of the seminary. But that's hardly to downplay the crisis. Not since the Middle Ages (or the Russian Orthodox Church during Communist rule) has the Church seen such a demonic infiltration. That's the other way the devil has worked -- infiltration -- and for five years now, we have carried as many stories about such abuse charges as nearly any major Catholic news site. We have not tried to hide it. For it has been nothing short of a disaster. And it keeps rolling on. Just last month, 44 priests were implicated in the Philadelphia area (of events since the 1950s) and this month Oakland had to shell out $56 million in claims -- about half what some dioceses elsewhere have had to pay. In Canada, one diocese announced that it had to sell all of its property -- every parish! In the U.S., churches have been closed or will be closed because of these scandals, especially in Boston, and in some cases sumptuous chanceries are also for sale (which may be a good thing). Most recently, the rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City stood accused, a priest who in a terrible irony appeared nationally speaking on the topic of relationships (albeit in this case it was not a homosexual involvement with a youngster, which we find about as vile a sin as one can commit; unfortunately, at least two other media priests have lost their priestly faculties due to such violations). Can we ignore this? Of course not. But should it destroy the image of an entire network? Of course not -- no more than the abuse crisis as a whole should destroy the image of the entire Church. There are phenomenal priests out there. But it certainly hurts, and there is no denying that a large number of cases are real, that the devil has infiltrated the priesthood -- and seminaries -- in a horrendous way. We are not trying to say otherwise. Our main concern has always been for the young victims who can never be the same. But we are also concerned about the potential innocence of accused priests, and we are very concerned about the "repressed-memory" cases: those instances where someone suddenly recalls "abuse" by a priest decades after it allegedly happened -- way back in childhood, events these accusers say they "blocked" out of their recollections. It seems some such cases do exist, but we have to be very cautious with them. It would be in this area of the mind, and in the realm of hypnosis and psychology (which often have been at odds with religion), that Satan would most likely play. If even five or ten percent of priests are innocent, it is worth our acute attention. That's our argument. Like anyone else, a priest should be viewed as innocent until proven guilty. But even one abuse case would have cast a shadow on the Church, and there are hundreds of valid claims, some so lurid the details are not printable; these we have kept off the website. As we have said repeatedly, there is nothing worse than the violation of a child. But what about the possibility of false claims? What did readers have to say? "I was sexually abused by a Catholic priest 'thirty years ago,' in 1973-75 to be exact in Glendale, California," writes a viewer who like most will remain nameless for the purposes of this piece. "I have never forgotten what happened to me. My parents and I have sent letters and made claims of this abuse since 1975. I saved every letter, note, and photograph from that horrible three years and I truly do not understand the lack of information, details, or memory that people have from their abuse which suddenly showed up in 2002. It is hurtful for me, because it is invalidates my real abuse, and the real abuse of many -- although I do not believe all -- claimants. We won't even discuss the damage their actions have on good, innocent and holy priests. I do believe that the 'devil is in the details' and as a paralegal for 30-plus years, it has been my experience that this old adage is true! You just don't ever forget the guilt, the pain, the fear of being sexually abused by a person in power. My life has been altered forever because of it, and my family and God keep me on a straight and positive path. "Thank you for writing a great article that does not imply that all priests are good and all claimants of abuse are bad – and I hope the SNAP organization will read your letter and know that it is only common sense that there will be those who find the need to jump on a money-wagon without care or concern of their own dishonest actions. Thank you for your article … it is a major concern I have as well and I believe there are a number of clergy abuse cases, at least in the Southern California areas, that have been highly exaggerated or, in fact, are completely false." "There is no doubt a crisis in the priesthood today," writes a priest. "Yes, there are some priests who have abused children. Some of these men are ill and should be removed from active ministry. However, all accused priests should be considered innocent until proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be guilty. Can you imagine the injustice of being removed from the priesthood after 25 or 30 years of faithful service on an accusation that may or may not be true? Yet, thanks to the policy of the U.S. bishops, in practice an accused priest is presumed guilty until proven innocent. Even if proven innocent, his reputation is destroyed. "It is interesting to note that the U.S. bishops have exempted themselves from the 'zero tolerance policy.' Unlike priests, accused bishops are not ejected from their rectories, but continue to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, confirm, and carry on their ministry. They also have the benefit of diocesan funds at their disposal to pay for legal defense, which priests do not. This injustice has demoralized many in the priesthood. It is now clearly understood that the U.S. bishops consider priests expendable, and have 'sold them down the river' to protect themselves and their assets. Is it any wonder that young men do not want to enter the priesthood?" Notes another viewer: "I was surprised to see your article on false memory syndrome a couple of weeks ago. I was hesitant to write you, but after discerning for awhile, I feel I must. "False-memory syndrome is, at the very least, suspect, and at the worst, completely contrived by the devil to harm the healing process of abuse survivors and protect abusers. False-memory syndrome was coined by members of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, founded by parents of a woman who claims the father abused her as a child. Everything about this foundation is suspect. Many of the board members are people who have been accused of abuse. The parents have crossed every normal boundary of ethics and respect in trying to defame their daughter. The foundation deals mainly in propaganda, and their information is not based on proven psychiatry or psychotherapy." And another: "I agree with the majority of what you are saying, especially when someone is influencing another to 'remember.' I am 53 years old, the oldest of five siblings. All of us have been married and divorced, sometimes more than one time. We have a lot of problems with relationships, intimacy (the real meaning), and self-esteem. In the past, I have been critical and judgmental about my siblings and their behaviors. However, in more recent years I've started to look closer and try to understand. "About two years ago it occurred to me that all of us blatantly exhibit symptoms of childhood sexual molestation. I cannot remember an actual incident regarding myself, but feel that something must have happened, at least once. Sometimes I get flashes of it. I do not try to remember, nor do I dwell on it. My intention is to understand certain behaviors within myself and become healed through faith and prayer. Two months ago, a sibling admitted suicidal thoughts to me, and revealed that an older sibling had sexually abused two of our siblings over a three-year period when they were little, innocent, and vulnerable. Even though no one had ever discussed or mentioned this before now, I had developed this strong intuition over 35 years later. "I recommended counseling and prayer to my suicidal sibling. Fortunately, the sibling took this advice. My point is that there might be times when these memories are real. Though my experience is mostly intuitive rather than an actual memory, I feel we should not totally discount sudden memories many years later. Each case should be taken at face value, on an individual basis." We agree: each must be individually evaluated. "There is no professional diagnosis called 'false-memory syndrome,'" notes a professional in the field. "It is not recognized by the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, or any legitimate mental health organization. It is a term that was invented by a few parents who have been accused of child abuse. The conscious blocking of trauma is however recognized by most legitimate professionals and it listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is called 'dissociative amnesia.' There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of studies which support the reality of repressed memories. Comments another in the same vein: "I did read your article and I do agree with you that so many people are harmed and hurt by bad therapy and human stupidity. My question that seems obvious and I wonder why no one has ever mentioned it is this: I have heard very often that traumatic events are remembered and etched into memory more so than other events during childhood. Examples come quickly to my mind of my own childhood of things that perhaps seemed innocuous to an adult but are burned into my memory forever, sights, smells, sounds, etc. "I do understand about repression and the myriad defense mechanisms our minds use to protect us from traumatic memories, but why has no one brought up this scientifically proven fact about memory? Traumatic events etch themselves into our memories much more so than daily events. Trauma seems to 'brand' itself onto our brains and I wonder why that wouldn't be an argument for those who use the repressed memory syndrome theory." "Bravo Mr. Brown," is another e-mail from a woman named Angela. "I, too, know a priest who has been accused from 1964! Accused by a known embezzler, and no one has taken notice. The priest is out, abandoned by his diocese with no regard to forty years of faithful and exemplary service. This guy and his brother thought it would be easy money, that the diocese would cave. They never figured on the cost of accusations that were valid. This priest has been out in the cold for three long years waiting for the case to wind its way through the court system. It's more than disheartening." However, noted an alleged victim: "When I was 12 years old I was abused by a priest and I still haven't come forward publicly. The man was charged by another woman about four weeks ago in the paper. He is 77 years old now. False memory I think not. I remember every detail about it. I could draw you a picture of the room we were in and the car he drove. I prefer to let the Lord handle him when he dies, and he stands in judgment. I have every right to walk away from my faith but I believe the Lord has me by the seat of my pants telling me not too. I won't let go from my Faith, God, and My Church. Pray for those victims I know I do. There are more of us out there. Believe it." And added reader Susan Sweet of Oswego, New York: "As much as I can appreciate your article in defending priests that may have been falsely accused, I also know Satan can also use false compassion as a tool," "The late great Bishop Sheen had a wonderful program on the subject warning about a world where there seems to be a trend toward more compassion for the one who victimizes than the victim. Prepubescent abuse is a vast subject and I know from experience first hand. I am a very devoted catholic mother and grandmother and commissioned youth minister who led a 10-year investigation in the Syracuse diocese that exposed the systematic abuse of children by a priest pedophile ring. This was well before the Dallas and Boston incident. This abuse took place over the last fifty years. I would spend days crying and vomiting over the agony of truth. Information on 38 priests were eventually brought to the Bishop James Moynihan. His vice-chancellor recently told me that the info brought to them was all true even though I told him some of the information was hearsay. "Priests that have been falsely accused in this diocese have been rare and the Diocesan Task Force has openly acknowledged two cases (reason being that only one victim has come forward in both cases). Please understand that I think the world of you know that you are truly and instrument of God. I have just suffered the pains of catholic denial of this kind of evil even to the point I was told many times I was going to hell. I am not part of SNAP or any other kind of group and I live every day praying for mercy for all involved - including myself! "I felt in reading your article that you were tending to put more trust in psychiatry than you were in God's possible plan for renewal. I believe Our Lord's passion was the labor pains for the birth of His church that flowed forth from His side. This pain inside the church today is what I believe is the labor pains for the return to that pure Church instituted on Calvary. Recently, I have discovered that one of my closest confidants (a priest) throughout my ordeal turned himself in for an abuse issue. He consistently lied to me by saying he was going on sabbatical, etc., until I went to the diocese and asked to be told the truth. Without details, it was revealed that he had abused and had been removed from active duty two years ago. I know how you feel about the priest you met. The pain never ends."