Bless Me Father for I Have Sinned: Perspectives on Sexual Abuse Committed by Roman Catholic Priests

201 Pages·1999·11.45 MB·English

by  Thomas G. Plante Ph.D.

Bless Me Father
for I Have Sinned
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Bless Me Father
for I Have Sinned
Perspectives on Sexual Abuse
Committed by Roman Catholic
Priests
Edited by
Thomas G. Plante
Foreword by Sylvia M. Demarest
w
P
London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bless me father for I have sinned : perspectives on sexual abuse
committed by Roman Catholic priests / edited by Thomas G. Plante ;
foreword by Sylvia M. Demarest.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-275-96386-1 (alk. paper)
1. Child sexual abuse by clergy. 2. Catholic
Church—Clergy—Sexual behavior. I. Plante, Thomas G.
BX1912.9.B54 1999
261.8'3272'08822—dc21 98-56635
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1999 by Thomas G. Plante
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-56635
ISBN: 0-275-96386-1
First published in 1999
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
@r
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Copyright Acknowledgment
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge perinission to reprint portions of "Catholic
priests who sexually abuse minors: Why do we hear so much yet know so little?" from Pastoral Psy
chology, 44 (5), published in 1996.
In order to keep this title in print and available to the academic community, this edition
was produced using digital reprint technology in a relatively short print run. This would
not have been attainable using traditional methods. Although the cover has been changed
from its original appearance, the text remains the same and all materials and methods
used still conform to the highest book-making standards.
Dedicated to Thomas Kennedy and all others (victims, families, parishes,
clergy, believers) who have experienced the pain of clergy sexual victimization
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Contents
Foreword by Sylvia M. Demarest ix
Preface xv
1. Introduction: What Do We Know About Roman Catholic Priests 1
Who Sexually Abuse Minors?
by Thomas G. Plante
2. Sexuality in Priesthood: Noli me tangere 7
by John Allan Loftus
3. Beginning an Intervention in Clergy Sexual Abuse 21
by Gerdenio Manuel
4. Forensic Psychological Evaluations in Clergy Abuse 27
by John C. Gonsiorek
5. Neuropsychological Findings in Clergy Who Sexually Abuse 59
by Leslie Lothstein
6. Psychological Treatment of Priest Sex Offenders 87
by Curtis Bryant
1. The Problem of Prevention in Clergy Sexual Abuse 111
by A. Richard Sipe
8. Hear Our Cries: Victim-Survivors of Clergy Sexual Misconduct 135
by Nanette de Fuentes
Vlll Contents
9. Conclusion: Sexual Abuse Committed by Roman Catholic Priests: 171
Current Status, Future Objectives
by Thomas G. Plante
Index 179
Foreword
Sylvia M. Demarest
I have carefully considered what perspective I might bring to this important book.
I am a private attorney, not a medical professional. I cannot claim to be an
objective observer. I have sued Bishops and Catholic Dioceses on behalf of abuse
victims. My comments are from that perspective.
As an attorney who has interviewed scores of abuse victims, I compare the
sexual abuse of children to a communicable disease. Some researchers describe the
propensity to sexually abuse minors as learned behavior that transmits the cycle
of abuse from abuser to abuse victim. Once the cycle of abuse infects an incestuous
family, it spreads and goes from one generation to the next. Similarly, the cycle
of domestic violence establishes patterns of violence that continue in the lives of
the sons and daughters who observe it. The learned behavior is repeated, either as
victims or victimizers.
Many authors in this book note that 80 to 90 percent of priest abuse victims are
adolescent boys. This is not good news. As John C. Gonsiorek points out in his
chapter, boys respond more often with acts of aggression and report a greater
sexual interest in children. Simply stated, boys act out, often violently and
sexually. In fact, there appears to be a tremendous correlation between adult
sociopathology and childhood abuse, including childhood sexual abuse.
This does not minimize the damage to girls resulting from sexual abuse. There
is also a close correlation between the sexual abuse of girls and adult
sociopathology in women.
I have often described the effects of the sexual abuse of children on society as
an inverted pyramid where the abuse of one child at the peak of the inverted
pyramid radiates to impact many other people over that child's lifetime. This is
true whether the abuse victim is male or female.
Dr. Gonsiorek notes that less sophisticated, less worldly, more naive rural and
working-class youth are over-represented in the ranks of those abused by clergy.
Also, youth who have been psychologically damaged are particularly vulnerable