Sexual Abuse on Children by a Priest… Again?
Prominent Jesuit Is Target of New Federal Charges
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and SUSAN SAULNY
Published: November 3, 2007
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN and SUSAN SAULNY
Published: November 3, 2007
Picture courtesy of the Vatican
A prominent Jesuit priest accused of sexually victimizing teenage boys who were his valets as he traveled the world leading Roman Catholic spiritual retreats was taken into federal custody yesterday in Chicago.
The priest, the Rev. Donald J. McGuire, was charged by the federal authorities with traveling to Switzerland and Austria to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. Father McGuire was convicted last year of sexually abusing two high school students on trips to Wisconsin.
(Snip)
Victims’ lawyers released documents this week that showed that as far back as 1969 parents had contacted Jesuit officials to report that Father McGuire was behaving in sexually incorrect ways with their sons.
The order also received complaint letters from parents in 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
In that time, Father McGuire traveled alone with teenagers as young as 13, usually sharing a room and often a bed, according to the affidavit unsealed yesterday.
The actions continued despite orders from his Jesuit superiors in the Chicago Province in 1991 instructing Father McGuire not to travel on overnight trips “with any boy or girl under the age of 18 and, preferably, even under the age of 21.”
(Snip) So the Catholic Church leaders knew the creep was a problem but still let him loose on the parish children? I’m guessing the Jesuit superiors are hoping to cover their sorry asses with a strongly worded letter rather than calling 911?
Sometimes after the abuse, he would perform the rite of absolution. One of the reported victims said the first time Father McGuire molested him was at confession, when he was 9. The parents had considered it an honor when the prominent priest mentored their sons.
The boy who reportedly traveled with Father McGuire to Switzerland and Austria roomed with him in a Jesuit residence in Evanston, Ill., in 1999, starting at age 13, and stayed until 2003.
That was one year after the Catholic bishops of the United States declared that all priests credibly accused of abuse should be removed from ministry service. - New York Times
The right of Absolution? For the child? Yet another sick minded SOB priest that raped young boys.
What the hell is the deal with my Catholic Church? Who in their right mind would allow a “Known” sex offender against children to still have contact with children? Direct report senior officials in the church should be tried right next to this SOB and given the same damn sentence. This is a crime against humanity in the most disgusting form and it angers me so much that it has rocked my faith in the church to the point of wanting to leave it.
Yes, I mean leave the church that has shown me the world of Jesus Christ and that we all are our brothers keeper. How can I go to my church and look any priest in the face without thinking if this man of God is also a pedophile in disguise? What is going through his mind as my children are taking the body of Christ? I can not rely on or trust the Bishop’s or the Cardinal’s to clean up their act and cast out the sex offenders any more than I could trust a known serial killer not to kill… again!
What I see as a serious problem with the brotherhood that is the priesthood of the Catholic Church is that they take care of their own no matter what wrongs they have committed. In their minds, it seems better to hide a known criminal amongst themselves than report the criminal to the authorities. After all they are all looking out for the greater good of the Catholic Church. With the criminal priest on the lamb for one or more sexual crimes against children they have knowingly farmed them out to other dioceses to start all over again for decades. Who the hell do these people think they are? Wearing that collar does not absolve you from being a sinner at any level of the church and if you knowingly hide someone that has sexually abused children then you are just as guilty.
If the United States government or for that matter states and local law enforcement looked at the Catholic Church as just another corporation then they would have seized all the records of the Bishop’s (Vice President’s) and Cardinal’s (CEO’s) within the church and shut this sexual predator pedophilia syndicate down years ago.
I’m disgusted as a practicing Catholic. If my church does not see this as a long running problem then I can not participate in this church in the same ways as I have in the past. If I can see it in the press then so can the Pope. If he looks the other way still, then somebody needs to call Saint Peter and tell him about the going out of business sale.
My suggestions to parents thinking that their child may have been sexually abused by anyone in any church. Call the police first and then call your District Attorney General’s office. Then call a lawyer. Insist on an arrest no matter who the accused is.
Calling the church or the abusers boss in circumstances of sexual abuse against your child is like swatting at the rain. The drops are still going to come down and get your feet wet.
Papamoka
Cross posted at Bring IT ON!
Feel free to vent your own anger here over this issue... Or just link to it...
A prominent Jesuit priest accused of sexually victimizing teenage boys who were his valets as he traveled the world leading Roman Catholic spiritual retreats was taken into federal custody yesterday in Chicago.
The priest, the Rev. Donald J. McGuire, was charged by the federal authorities with traveling to Switzerland and Austria to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. Father McGuire was convicted last year of sexually abusing two high school students on trips to Wisconsin.
(Snip)
Victims’ lawyers released documents this week that showed that as far back as 1969 parents had contacted Jesuit officials to report that Father McGuire was behaving in sexually incorrect ways with their sons.
The order also received complaint letters from parents in 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
In that time, Father McGuire traveled alone with teenagers as young as 13, usually sharing a room and often a bed, according to the affidavit unsealed yesterday.
The actions continued despite orders from his Jesuit superiors in the Chicago Province in 1991 instructing Father McGuire not to travel on overnight trips “with any boy or girl under the age of 18 and, preferably, even under the age of 21.”
(Snip) So the Catholic Church leaders knew the creep was a problem but still let him loose on the parish children? I’m guessing the Jesuit superiors are hoping to cover their sorry asses with a strongly worded letter rather than calling 911?
Sometimes after the abuse, he would perform the rite of absolution. One of the reported victims said the first time Father McGuire molested him was at confession, when he was 9. The parents had considered it an honor when the prominent priest mentored their sons.
The boy who reportedly traveled with Father McGuire to Switzerland and Austria roomed with him in a Jesuit residence in Evanston, Ill., in 1999, starting at age 13, and stayed until 2003.
That was one year after the Catholic bishops of the United States declared that all priests credibly accused of abuse should be removed from ministry service. - New York Times
The right of Absolution? For the child? Yet another sick minded SOB priest that raped young boys.
What the hell is the deal with my Catholic Church? Who in their right mind would allow a “Known” sex offender against children to still have contact with children? Direct report senior officials in the church should be tried right next to this SOB and given the same damn sentence. This is a crime against humanity in the most disgusting form and it angers me so much that it has rocked my faith in the church to the point of wanting to leave it.
Yes, I mean leave the church that has shown me the world of Jesus Christ and that we all are our brothers keeper. How can I go to my church and look any priest in the face without thinking if this man of God is also a pedophile in disguise? What is going through his mind as my children are taking the body of Christ? I can not rely on or trust the Bishop’s or the Cardinal’s to clean up their act and cast out the sex offenders any more than I could trust a known serial killer not to kill… again!
What I see as a serious problem with the brotherhood that is the priesthood of the Catholic Church is that they take care of their own no matter what wrongs they have committed. In their minds, it seems better to hide a known criminal amongst themselves than report the criminal to the authorities. After all they are all looking out for the greater good of the Catholic Church. With the criminal priest on the lamb for one or more sexual crimes against children they have knowingly farmed them out to other dioceses to start all over again for decades. Who the hell do these people think they are? Wearing that collar does not absolve you from being a sinner at any level of the church and if you knowingly hide someone that has sexually abused children then you are just as guilty.
If the United States government or for that matter states and local law enforcement looked at the Catholic Church as just another corporation then they would have seized all the records of the Bishop’s (Vice President’s) and Cardinal’s (CEO’s) within the church and shut this sexual predator pedophilia syndicate down years ago.
I’m disgusted as a practicing Catholic. If my church does not see this as a long running problem then I can not participate in this church in the same ways as I have in the past. If I can see it in the press then so can the Pope. If he looks the other way still, then somebody needs to call Saint Peter and tell him about the going out of business sale.
My suggestions to parents thinking that their child may have been sexually abused by anyone in any church. Call the police first and then call your District Attorney General’s office. Then call a lawyer. Insist on an arrest no matter who the accused is.
Calling the church or the abusers boss in circumstances of sexual abuse against your child is like swatting at the rain. The drops are still going to come down and get your feet wet.
Papamoka
Cross posted at Bring IT ON!
Cross posted at Gun Toting Liberal ... Thank you GTL!
Feel free to vent your own anger here over this issue... Or just link to it...
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Labels: Cardinal Law, Chicago Catholics, Diocese of Boston, Diocese of Worcester, Priest Sex Abuse, Sex Offenders
posted by Papamoka at
6:55 PM
13 Comments:
I would point out that pedophiles become priests for the same reason they become teachers, camp counselors, social workers, and Little League coaches...so they can have contact with children.
And I would also point out that tightly-knit organizations like the police, the military, and yes, the priesthood, tend to close ranks and defend their members out of a sense of loyalty, even when it isn't always the right course of action.
So yes, there are major problems in the Church...but I would argue that you find these same problems in similar organizations, and you won't avoid them by avoiding the Church.
I can't tell you if you should still be a Catholic; I'm too recently Catholic to understand all the histories and complexities. But I do know that you have to look at the church as a whole before making a decision like that.
Tom,
I have five daughters to protect and nurture till they are adults. The church is not doing enough to make me feel comfortable even with dropping them off for CCD classes inbetween Masses.
Once or twice I can understand the percentages but this is getting rediculous where hundreds of priests are being arrested for sexual abuse on children. This has been going on for decades?
My belief in God will still be the same but my children are more important than taking a risk by exposing them to anyone in the church. The percentages are simply not working out. If the Bishop or the Cardinal does not care about the safety of his flock then I sure as hell do. My flock is five young kids with minds that could be ruined for life by just one rogue animal.
Kids come first...
Your kids should come first. And I can see why you don't trust the Church---it has been going on for decades.
However, as I pointed out pedophiles can be found everywhere, especially in places where there are children. The only way to keep them completely safe would be to keep them away from everyone. Just keeping them away from the Church wouldn't be enough (though it would probably reduce the risk).
I think you have to ask yourself what your kids will get out of the Church...and determine (as objectively as possible) how that compares with the risks they face.
I can't say that I know what it's like to have children to keep safe; but I do know (and I don't mean to be ghoulish) that you can't protect your loved ones from all potential dangers.
Don't get me wrong Tom, I love the Catholic faith and I have been a strong defender of the church, it just is not defending the safety of children as it should.
It isn't up to me to clean up the church, it is the leaders of the church that need to do that. If a corporation saw an embezzler then they would fire his ass and press charges against him for it. That is not the case here and apparently it is still not the way of the church today. They choose to send the so called embezzler to another parish to find fresh meat to start all over again.
Not my actions, theirs!
Should you stay with a church you love but has shown an appalling lack of responsibility?
I don't know. I know that I have some serious disagreements with the Vatican...but in the end I think this is where I'm supposed to be. For other people, maybe that's not the answer for them...
Tom it might happen in other organizations, but don't you think the church has a moral obligation to be a leader in showing the rest of society how to deal with those that sexually abuse children?
Other priests, bishops, cardinals, the pope are all aiding and abetting. And that too is a crime.
I am done with the catholic church! How christians can turn their backs on the victims of sexual abuse by priests, nuns and other religious authorities, and choose the perpetrator instead is appalling.
The catholic (and other) church needs to implode and rebuild. In the meantime, I choose to live my life morally and with integrity. Can't say the same for them....
The catholic (and other) church needs to implode and rebuild.
While there are major problems, I hardly think the situation is so extreme that the churches actually have to be rebuilt. Even if they're handling sexual abuse badly there are other things they do well. Leave the Church if that's what you feel is necessary, but don't dismiss all of it (and all of us).
I didn't go to church today. I slept in. My sleep was good and my rest was much needed. I don't think I'll be going to church again. Neither will my children. They will learn about God from their mother and father and our version of the Catholic faith as we know it.
The flaw in your arguement Tom is that you point out that the potential for abuse is everywhere and you are correct. Knowing that I can not trust the Church to police itself with unquestionable results is my personal issue and problem.
I can not honestly expose my children to the possibility of abuse when the folks in the church that are supposed to be minding the store take a hiatus and continue to look the other way.
Granted, we have done many good things in the Catholic church all across America and around the world and many people do not know all that we do but the damage to one child's life wipes that all out.
The sadness in my heart will truly come when I face my fellow brothers in the Knights of Columbus and walk away from them as well. That is not going to be a fun day for me.
That's a tough decision to make, but if your particular situation demands it then you have little choice.
As a former Protestant I would point out that there are other churches that don't have the same problems dealing with abuse that the Catholic church has.
As an incest molestee myself, my Dad rather than priest, I follow this all very closely. My two children, as non-Catholics, were raised by the Sisters, preschool through 8th and 5th grade respectively. My wife and I were so impressed by the loving Christian education that our children received, I as a Protestant, converted through RCIA with my children in 2004, returning to my own ancestral Irish Catholics roots. It was powerful and joyful.
I am disenchanted as of late with the priesthood, a shame. I am convinced that the Catholic Church must take a Greek Orthodox direction and dispel the 15th century church priesthood politic and marry, bringing the wives in for a check. Full body blow check as in Hockey.
Having said that, and I may be very unrealistic, a celibate priesthood might continue to exist only under rigorous annual evaluation by peers. In the meantime we boys who become men recover our raping as we do.
Thanks for you input Topics, I'm sure it took alot for you to say that you were or are a victim.
There is some merit to getting rid of the celebacy of the priesthood but every time it is mentioned it is shot down by the church.
Don't get me wrong, I applaud you for returning to the church with your family. Like I've said in a previous comment, I love my faith I just get very angry that this issue of sexual abuse is not dealt with in a more severe many by the church. This isn't a three strikes your out, it should be one strike.
Thanks for visiting and please come back more ofen.
hi..
I read this article ,three times but I think abuse of children in christanity or any religion is done from more than 500 years by priests ,fathers malas .It can’t finish any religion ,but this is our duty to stop abuse of the children by sexuality or any work .This is the problem of most of the countries with different religions.Join September 1 to make a genuine difference through a first day for humanity’s children .
—–
Hardy
—-
Sept 1--Sept 1
Thanks for post. It’s really informative stuff.
I really like to read.Hope to learn a lot and have a nice experience here! my best regards guys!
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