NY priest ‘deeply regrets’ comments blaming ‘seducer’ youth in sex abuse cases

NEW YORK
New York Daily News

By Victoria Cavaliere / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, August 30, 2012

A prominent New York-based friar has apologized for expressing sympathy for some pedophiles — including defrocked priests and former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky — saying they are sometimes “seduced” by their underage victims.

Father Benedict Groeschel’s jarring comments come amid ongoing fallout from child sex abuse scandals that have rocked Penn State and, over the past decade, the Catholic Church.

In some of these cases, children “looking for a father figure” are responsible for the relationship with someone in a position of power — like a coach or clergy member, Groeschel told the National Catholic Register.

“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,” said Groeschel, a founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

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