Why Catholic officials are "picked on" about abuse
Fr. John Geoghan may be America's most prolific predator priest, with at least 150 victims over a 36 year clerical career. (He's not, however, the most efficient. That distinction goes to Mexico's Fr. Nicholas Aguilar Rivera who, in just 10 months in Los Angeles, reportedly assaulted 26 kids.)
This year is the 60 year anniversary of perhaps the first "red flag" Catholic officials had about Geoghan. In 1954, the rector of Geoghan's seminary expressed doubts about his suitability for the priesthood, in part because the seminarian was "decidedly immature."
It's also the 25 year anniversary of Cardinal Bernard Law sending Geoghan to St. Luke's Institute (one of at least three treatment centers where Geoghan spent time), where he was diagnosed as "high risk." Of course, he was still put back on the job in an unsuspecting parish.
And it's the 15 year anniversary of a 1994 Boston archdiocesan memo, labeled "confidential," that said that Geoghan would stay in a parishioner’s home who had eight kids “even when he was on a three day retreat because he missed the kids so much.” He “would touch them while they were sleeping and waken them by playing with their penises."
(Incidentally, last year was the 50th anniversary of Paraclete founder Fr. Gerald's Fitzgerald's letter to the pope advocating “Laicization for any priest, upon objective evidence, for tampering with the virtue of the young” noting that “real conversions will be found to be extremely rare" and "leaving them on duty or wandering from diocese to diocese is contributing to scandal." His advice was obviously ignored.)
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2009/03_04/2009_03_30_Roberts_BishopsWere.htm
Why mention all of this?
Because some Catholic officials still claim that only recently did they begin to “understand” pedophilia.
And because in the last two weeks, two of the very highest ranking Catholic officials claimed that the church hierarchy is unfairly “picked on” in abuse cases. (One was New York Cardinal Tim Dolan. The other was Pope Francis himself.)
The relentlessly reckless and selfish handling of the Fr. John Geoghan case is one of thousands of reasons Catholic officials are "picked on" about child sex crimes.
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
Showing 42 comments
I also agree with survivor, former nun and SNAP leader, Ms. Mary Dispenza that to date, “common sense” has been puposely evaded by the catholic church leaders on these heinous crimes against humanity.
What’s more, I believe that exercising common sense would allow the catholic church heirarchy to think beyond the multitude of years of lies and constant dissembling, to finally arrive at a point where they realize that the words of Christ as found in Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:2, were uttered for this specific purpose; and, that PUTTING AN END to catholic church heirarchy enabling and covering up for the abusive, active pedophiles in their ranks, PUTTING AN END to all of this, is the only honestly religious, credible, intelligent, moral and common sense thing to do.
I believe we should ALL beseige the two, living catholic popes, to:
PUT AN END TO THIS SCOURGE OF PEDOPHELIA AND HEINOUS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, BEING COMMITTED and/or ENABLED and COVERED UP BY any and all CATHOLIC PREISTS, LAITY AND EMPLOYEES, now!
NOW! I say.
Because some Catholic officials still claim that only recently did they begin to ‘understand’ pedophilia.” (I believe that making that “claim” is really, just another example of the abusers attacking their victims and those who are accusing them. I believe that is one of their “foundation cornerstones” of the “defence policy”, i.e. “attack all comers by lying and disembling”.
I believe that ALL of the catholic church heirarchy, including both living popes (francis and benedict), should be forced to re-read the following portions of the New Testament, every day.
Matthew 18:6
Mark 9:42
and, Luke 17:2