Clergy Abuse Information

Priest Sexual Abuse comprises a wide-range of illegal and heinous actions commonly commited on young children and tweens by pedophilic clergy or other church employees involving sexual abuse of varying degrees. The sexual assault may be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barencounter or it may involve numerous assaults within a continuing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a child spawned by the predatory intent of a clergy associate, cloaked by the trust and reverence imputed to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual assault acts of molestation.

In most alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the failure by the Church member’s superior to fully, adequately and promptly report the offense to law enforcement and other authorities, or the continuing failure to research, cope with and resolve entirely with the occurrence increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and possibly others. Current Clergy Sexual Assault cases reported in the press highlight these short-comings, which includes “pass-the-trash” situations where the perpetrator frequently a priest in the Catholic Church, is quietly moved from one parish to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Justice
Not a week goes by without a media headline reporting regarding sexual abuse and molestation of children by predator clergy, or the effects of the assault on the survivors and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these reports are most likely to act as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwanted feelings harming your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage them to reveal the abuse they suffered, victims of abuse are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifelong harm and injury they have suffered.

If you are a survivor of abuse perpetrated by a member of the church, the result of the abuse on your life and core belief system might be immeasurable. Nonetheless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference can provide a measure of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Oftentimes, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a motion can be filed where the plaintiff can remain anonymous.

Predatory Behavior
All abusers, to varying amounts, use predatory tricks that are generally known as grooming, tracking a potential assault victim. Following is a survey of grooming actions used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate child.

Grooming
Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a religious environment, the priest is revered as God’s representative. Within this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, understanding each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and circumstances. Once a target is identified, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically leveraged 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 interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can feign genuine concern in the child’s wellness and development – both emotional and religious.

Reliance
As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential child-victim and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The child will devote increased time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive presents from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
While grooming escalates, the predator may work to isolate the possible target. priest abuseCalifornia might result in individual counseling sessions, meals or other forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.
Sexualization
The predator will start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to contact, 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 response to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to keep control over the child and the continued interaction. The priest will likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the target feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever ways necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The effect of childhood abuse on the victim can be overwhelming and life-changing. Many clergy assault survivors suffer from long-term effects of the abuse including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems creating and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Abuse can gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more frequently, from the religious organization for its failure to shield the victim from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method 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 experience and your legal options, we are prepared to speak with you.