Clergy Abuse comprises a range of immoral and heinous acts commonly commited on children and tweens by pedophilic clergy or other church employees involving sexual abuse of varying degrees. The assault might be a single, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it may include numerous assaults within a continuing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” relationship with a child spawned by the predatory intent of a clergy associate, cloaked with the trust and respect provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual abuse acts of molestation.
Within all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the short-coming by the Church member’s superior to entirely, adequately and immediately report the offense to police and other authorities, or the further failure to research, cope with and deal fully with the occurrence amplifies the effects on the assault survivor, the community and potentially others. Recent Church Sexual Assault cases covered in the press highlight these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations when the predator frequently a priest in the Catholic Church, is silently transferred from one parish to another only to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unsuspecting parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse and Retribution
Not a day passes without a news headline reporting about sexual assault and molestation of children by predator clergy, or the effects of the assault on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual assault from a priest or other clergy member, these reports are likely to serve as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, shame, guilt and various unwelcome feelings harming your wellness. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage them to reveal the assault they suffered, victims of assault are more frequently turning to the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime harm and injury they have experienced.
If you are a victim of abuse perpetrated by a priest, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system may be immeasurable. Regardless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions to blame for their crimes and failures can offer an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Frequently, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. But, if
new york priest abuse is required, a case might be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All predators, to varying degrees, employ predatory tricks which are generally referred to as grooming, aiming at a possible abuse victim. Following is a list of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a church setting, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within this environment, the predator often works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a target is identified, these vulnerabilities – such as violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically exploited in the following ways:
Trust
A predator will initially try to gain the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to notice as church communities are often tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can pretend sincere interest in the child’s wellness and groeth – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim will devote more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential target may receive presents from the priest, including valuable, intangible presents like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming progresses, the predator will work to isolate the potential victim. This might result in solo counseling meetings, meals or various methods of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This could start with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to determine the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will work to keep control over the child and the continued interaction. The priest may likely seek to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever ways needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the survivor can be severe and life-changing. Several clergy assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty creating and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can assist victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Priest Sexual Abuse can gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to protect the child from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding to reports of assault. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.