Priests Molesting Children Payment Plan

Some readers of Child Molestation is a Common Catholic Habit took exception with the title and said that priests preying on children is an exceptional not an ordinary pastime. The Altoona-Johnstown jury would not agree with this assessment nor would the other U. S. grand juries that have been convened to examine the subject of miscreant priests.

In addition to legal inquiries the press has long exposed wayward priests so it is difficult to maintain that child molestation is not a common Catholic habit.  Here are some examples.

For the Jesuits, a long road to accountability [Rev. Bradley M. Schaeffer] Boston Globe 2012
Jesuits pay record $166.1 million in child abuse case CBC News [sexual abuse of Native American children]
Suit Says Jesuits Ignored Warnings About Priest [Fr. Donald J. McGuire] NYT 2011

Wherever there are priests there are some behaving badly and according to the Altoona-Johnstown grand jury some bishops have provided cover for their subordinates' criminal acts. The evidence of their culpability is contained in the Altoona-Johnston Grand Jury Report.

The Grand Jury concludes:

The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown was a location rampant with child molestation for decades. The widespread abuse of children was assisted by priests and bishops to whom the children looked for guidance and protection were also in an ideal position to victimize them.

....the Grand Jury observed; Bishops and priests who used the cover of their authority to hide the truth from the public. The offending priests knew there was no risk of exposure because Bishop James Hogan and Bishop Joseph Adamec were covering it up. By hiding their conduct rather than exposing it, the Bishops enabled child sexual abuse. p.130

From the Report: Father Dan O'Neil testified in July 2015 "that it was common knowledge that Fr. Thomas Carroll was molesting children." p. 32

The Grand Jury notes "the culture that the Diocese created. An active priest (Father Kovach), groomed and engaged in sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old boy and never expected anyone to report it. Father Kovach was unconscionably accurate. Business as usual in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown continued on." p.71

When testifying before the Grand Jury on November 18, 2014, Monsignor Philip Saylor testified that "under Bishop Hogan the threat to children within the diocese was so well known and institutionalized that there was both open discussion and procedure for the occurrence." p.75

There is evidence that two priests, Father Martin McCamley and Father James Bunn, sexually abused the same child.

Sexual Abuse Compensation Plan

Bishop Joseph Adamec created a compensation fund to pay victims for their sexual attacks. The church would pay $10,000-$25,000 for genital fondling outside of clothing, $15,000-$40,000 for fondling under clothes and masturbation, $25,000-$75,000 for oral sex and $50,000-$175,000 for sodomy.

Minimum/maximum payout amounts were affected by the number of times a child was molested, how long the abuse occurred, the age of child and whether the priest drugged the child with medication and or alcohol. To secure secrecy the church required the victims to sign confidentiality agreements and liability waivers. p. 120

Ii is not known whether sexual abuse compensation plans were standard operating procedure in other
dioceses.

Those reading international news reports would also be of the opinion that child molestation is a prevalent Catholic practice. Common does not mean that every priest is engaged in aberrant behavior but it does indicate that Catholic pastors have an unholy fetish of global proportions. Here are some examples— The '09 Ryan Commission established by the Irish government found that:

Sexual abuse was endemic in Catholic boys’ institutions. The schools investigated revealed a substantial level of sexual abuse of boys in care that extended over a range from improper touching and fondling to rape with violence. Perpetrators of abuse were able to operate undetected for long periods at the core of institutions. When confronted with evidence of sexual abuse, the response of the religious authorities was to transfer the offender to another location where, in many instances, he was free to abuse again. The safety of children in general was not a consideration. The situation in girls’ institutions was different. Although girls were subjected to predatory sexual abuse by male employees or visitors or in outside placements, sexual abuse was not systemic in girls’ schools

German Priests Carried Out Sexual Abuse for Years NYT 2013

Significant cases of sex abuse were exposed within Australia Archdioceses by the Royal Commission.

Top Vatican cardinal grilled about ‘absolutely scandalous’ sex abuse by priests that rocked Australia The Washington Post 2016

El Salvador Church suspends Father Delgado over sexual abuse BBC News 2015

Every time the media broadcasts child abuse the pope and his sycophants promise to do better but these are vacuous words. Women are the victims best defenders but they are denied authority and until they are elevated and are on par with men children will remain Catholic pawns. It is true and shameful that children are abused by parents and in almost every venue but the Catholic Church has a moral obligation to be better than the others.

For interested parties BishopAccountability.org provides a state by state database of publicly accused U.S. priests.

Child Molestation is a Catholic Custom

The 2016 Altoona-Johnstown Grand Jury Report coupled with numerous others conducted after The Boston Globe 2002 investigation regarding priests sexually harming children is damning: The jury's summary (p. 6 ) is as follows:

Over many years hundreds of children have fallen victim to child predators wrapped in authority and integrity of an honorable faith. As wolves disguised as the shepherds themselves—these men stole the innocence of children by sexually preying upon the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society and of the Catholic faith.

Each new grand jury revelation elicits an apology from the Pope and his legal counselors but it is likely that child molestation has been a priestly predilection since the founding of the church. Of course back then there were no media outlets and grand juries to advise so it is just a guess but there are substantive hints.

For instance canon law demands that each parish hide clerical misbehavior. By keeping damaging information under lock and key and by shuffling suspect priests from parish to parish bishops have been able to sidestep law enforcement and protect deviant priests from prosecution. This modus operandi is described in other grand jury reports. The canon law reference cited by the A-J Grand Jury is as follows:

Can 489 § 2
Each year documents of criminal cases in matter of morals, in which the accused parties have died or ten years have elapsed from the condemnatory sentence are to be destroyed. p.10

Can. 490 § 1 Only the bishop is to have the key to the secret archive.

The other way the Catholic Church has been able to avoid detection is by closing the ministry to women. Women may not be perfect supervisors but they would not tolerate the sexual injury done to children.

The Grand Jury noted that two prominent bishops were responsible for transferring molesting priests from parish to parish. They are James Hogan and Joseph Adamec. Bishop James Hogan served from '66-86 and was succeeded by Bishop Joseph Adamec who presided from '87 to 2011.

According to the Grand Jury hundreds of children within the diocese were subjected to genital fondling, were obliged to watch or allow masturbation, were compelled to perform or receive oral sex on or from priests and were anally raped. These violations were performed by more than 50 priests, most of whom were never punished because of statute of limitations.

The never ending question is when will Catholics demand change? Pope Francis says he sorry for the injuries and will institute reforms but words are meaningless without action and so far the pope has been immobile.

Only when women are elevated to positions of authority will children receive the protection they deserve.