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  Insights: New Perspective on "Predatory Priests"

By Rick Pastecki
The Daily News
April 17, 2010

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2010/04/17/opinion/columns/insights/6657674.txt

Once again the intelligentsia is on the attack against the pope and Catholic Church. Predatory priests are again in the news. I would like to try put some of this in perspective.

In 1987 I was a probation officer for convicted felons. I was involved in a program that gave acute felons one last opportunity to avoid jail or prison. This was a very structured program. Frequent unannounced home visits were the rule along with random drug testing and breathalyzer tests. Prior to leaving the probation department, I was responsible for monitoring a convicted pedophile who assaulted young boys. Counseling was the prescription of that day -- and may still be -- to help these individuals overcome this compulsion. This man struggled with this temptation so much so that prior to my leaving the probation department, he admitted to me that he didn't know if he could keep himself from molesting more children. I informed my superiors of this situation and my concerns. In due course I started my new career as a school counselor.

Approximately one year progressed when I read that this man was again re-arrested for molesting a young male child. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. Approximately 10 years later, I happened upon this same man swimming with a group of young boys in an open community swim at the school I was working at. I eventually got him to leave and never to return. I was however left wondering how this could happen? How could a convicted pedophile have so much free rein?

My point is this. At that time counseling was the primary resource to deal with these individuals. Many predatory priests were treated the same way. The young man I was assigned to supervise was a convicted pedophile and he was still let out on the street. As we all know too well, this is not uncommon. Yet an argument can be made that the criminal justice system has not received even an ounce of the criticism and headlines that the Catholic Church has. Not to mention the millions of dollars the church has paid out in lawsuits.

We are talking about less than 1 percent of the entire priestly congregation who have abused children (and yes, that is 1 percent too many). Why however are we condemning the pope and the entire Catholic Church? It was this pope who insisted that we get rid of the "filth" in the seminaries and the church, and took steps to do so. I am not in any way defending these abusive priests. They should be defrocked and imprisoned. But they are the ones who should be held accountable. Yet, some of the intelligentsia who push their personal agendas are always quick to paint an entire organization with the same brush. Many are privileged to have access to a wide audience and talk of things they know little about. With these people, a conspiracy exists behind every story and if one is not present, they will create one. They talk of a "crisis of confidence" in the Catholic Church. Says who? Did they take a poll? When you are a person or institution that fights for life and the principles of the Christian faith, you will be attacked for it. Any mistake, and they pounce.

The real state of affairs is this. The pope, the bishops, school superintendents, day-care owners, judges, child abuse investigators, prosecutors, police officers anyone who has to deal with these people are doing the best they can. That's the real world. There is no perfect answer. No silver bullet. Have mistakes been made? Absolutely. Is that sufficient compensation for the victims? No. There is no compensation that this world can provide to these victims that can make up for this abuse. The molestation of children is nothing short of evil. We must however continue to strive to do what we can to prevent this violence from occurring because it is devastating. By the way, Roll Call -- a newspaper that has been covering the White House since 1955 -- reports that "the Congressional Research Service confirmed in a memo Wednesday that rapists and sex offenders may get federally subsidized Viagra and other sexual performance enhancing drugs under the recently passed health care reform law." So you see, there is enough blame to pass around.

In our arrogance we humans believe that we must master and anticipate all things. That we ought to get our hands on all the knowledge that life has to offer. Nevertheless, we remain but children to the mysteries of life. And so it will always be, and is meant to be. God does not ask us to understand, but to trust. Most things will not be made known to us until we go to our Father who will reveal all things. I believe there is a special place in heaven for any child that has been molested by anybody. God will bring good even out of this.

Rick Pastecki is mayor of the village of Oakfield. He has contributed previously to the Opinion page.

 
 

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