Priest Abuse – Overview
Church Sexual Abuse encompasses a wide-range of illegal and unacceptable actions commonly commited on young children and tweens by predatory clergy or other church members involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it might involve several assaults inside a continuing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” interaction with a young child created by the predatory intent of a clergy associate, cloaked with the trust and reverence provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual abuse acts of molestation.
In most claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the failure by the Clergy member’s superior to completely, adequately and promptly report the crime to police and other authorities, or its further failure to research, handle and resolve fully with the situation increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Clergy Sexual Assault cases reported in the press show these failures, which includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the abuser commonly a clergy in the Catholic Church, is secretly re-assigned from one location to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice
Not a day passes without a media headline reporting about sexual assault and molestation of children by pedophile priests, or the aftermath of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to serve as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and various unwanted thoughts hurting your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage survivors to reveal the abuse they suffered, survivors of abuse 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 member of the church, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system may be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible priest and institutions accountable for their crimes and failures may offer a measure of justice and recompense to assault survivors. Frequently, survivors can leverage their legal rights through confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is necessary, a motion can be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods which are generally known as grooming, aiming at a possible abuse victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions used by predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a major part of a predator’s ploy. In a religious setting, the clergy member is held as God’s representative. Within this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small numbers of children, understanding each child’s needs, weaknesses and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
An assaulter will initially try to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the predator can pretend sincere concern in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim may devote increased time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible victim might receive gifts from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming escalates, the predator may try to isolate the potential target. This may result in single counseling meetings, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.
arizona church abuse will start to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever methods necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood assault on the survivor can be severe and life-changing. Many priest abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems creating and maintaining vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can assist victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Abuse may recover financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the religious organization 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 abuse. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.
In most claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the failure by the Clergy member’s superior to completely, adequately and promptly report the crime to police and other authorities, or its further failure to research, handle and resolve fully with the situation increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Clergy Sexual Assault cases reported in the press show these failures, which includes “pass-the-trash” scenarios when the abuser commonly a clergy in the Catholic Church, is secretly re-assigned from one location to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice
Not a day passes without a media headline reporting about sexual assault and molestation of children by pedophile priests, or the aftermath of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to serve as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and various unwanted thoughts hurting your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage survivors to reveal the abuse they suffered, survivors of abuse 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 member of the church, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system may be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible priest and institutions accountable for their crimes and failures may offer a measure of justice and recompense to assault survivors. Frequently, survivors can leverage their legal rights through confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is necessary, a motion can be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior
All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods which are generally known as grooming, aiming at a possible abuse victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions used by predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a major part of a predator’s ploy. In a religious setting, the clergy member is held as God’s representative. Within this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small numbers of children, understanding each child’s needs, weaknesses and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
An assaulter will initially try to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the predator can pretend sincere concern in the child’s wellbeing and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim may devote increased time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible victim might receive gifts from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming escalates, the predator may try to isolate the potential target. This may result in single counseling meetings, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.
arizona church abuse will start to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may start with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever methods necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood assault on the survivor can be severe and life-changing. Many priest abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems creating and maintaining vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can assist victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Abuse may recover financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the religious organization 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 abuse. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.
