Priest Child Molesters Disgrace the Catholic Priesthood (From Child Sexual Abuse, P 68-73, 1998, Bruno Leone, Brenda Stalcup, et al, eds. - See NCJ-171702)

• NCJ Number: 171710
• Author(s): J J Dreese
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: At Issue: An Opposing Viewpoints Series

Annotation

The scandal of priest pedophilia has hurt not only victims of child sexual abuse but also the church and the priesthood, and the church should have confronted this problem long ago.

Abstract

Formerly, priests who committed sex offenses were treated either as sinners or as mentally ill. They were given penance or counseling and then moved to another parish. In the current social climate, media sources frequently report on child sexual abuse by priests who are treated as criminals. At issue, however, is whether punishment and lawsuits to obtain financial compensation for victims actually contribute to the recovery of either the victim or the criminal. The author, a priest himself, offers no clear-cut suggestions on how priest child molesters and their victims should be treated and rehabilitated.