Father Groeschel apologizes for sympathizing with Sandusky, but won’t face discipline

UNITED STATES
Metro

CASSANDRA GARRISON

NEW YORK

A Franciscan friar in Westchester, N.Y., apologized Thursday for shocking comments he made to a Catholic newsletter, where he appeared to defend not only child sex abuse, but also disgraced former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.

In an interview with the National Catholic Register, Father Benedict Groeschel, 78, said boys without fathers are often the ones to approach their abusers.

“Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster — 14, 16, 18 — is the seducer,” Groeschel, who is part of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, said.

“It’s not so hard to see — a kid looking for a father and didn’t have his own — and they won’t be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing,” he added.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.