Begin forwarded message:
> From: dasg...@aol.com > Date: July 7, 2010 7:23:55 PM PDT > To: ramille...@aol.com > Cc: ema...@aol.com, j...@aol.com, jim6...@cwnet.com > Subject: Let Us Prey > > Benedictine monk Patrick Wall worked for 12 years as a “fixer” dispatched to > clean up the messy sexual problems caused by priests at parishes and schools. > The problems were described to him in what seemed to be an official code: > Whenever a child required surgery after being raped, for example, he was told > she would need a “hernia” operation. He worked on cases where priests > impregnated girls then procured abortions for them. “That happened all the > time,” said Wall. > > Church scandal’s next wave: > > Abused girls > > Expect numbers of women victimized by priests as children to rise over next > few years, say lawyers > > Apr 24 2010 > http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/800312--church-scandal-s-next-wave-abused-girls > By Mary Ormsby > Father Charlie told the girl with the cascading brown curls and frilly frocks > that she was pretty. Special. One of his favourites. > > In the small Ontario town of Pain Court, a French-Canadian community near > Chatham, Father Charlie’s attention was prized by devout Roman Catholic > families like Cecilia McLauchlin’s. His interest in their daughter meant the > popular priest, once described as “next to God,” publicly approved of how she > was being raised. > > So when a gynecologist examined the girl for recurring vaginal infections, it > didn’t occur to anyone that Father Charlie was the cause of her physical pain. > > Cecilia McLauchlin was only 5 years old. > > Now 32, the Chatham woman is the youngest known victim of Father Charles > Sylvestre, the smooth-talking priest who groomed his young prey with candies, > trinkets and praise. He was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting 47 girls > over four decades in southwestern Ontario — despite abuse complaints from > victims to police, school and church officials during that time. > > McLauchlin came forward after his conviction, as did 30 more women in a > movement some expect foreshadows the church’s next crisis: a groundswell of > female victims seeking justice. > > From Mount Cashel to Ireland, most sex abuse scandals have involved boys as > altar servers, at boarding schools or in orphanages. The most recent trouble > also surrounds boys, with allegations Pope Benedict — who celebrates his > fifth anniversary this week as head of all Catholics — knew about an American > priest molesting 200 deaf boys in Milwaukee but failed to act. > > An American study commissioned eight years ago and paid for by the United > States Conference of Catholic Bishops found that boys were overwhelmingly the > likeliest target of predator priests. The John Jay College of Criminal > Justice study, based on voluntary disclosure from church authorities (some > refused to comply), determined boys accounted for 81 per cent of sex > assaults. Most abuse for all victims occurred between 1960 and the 1980s. > > But London-based lawyer Robert Talach, who represented McLauchlin and other > Sylvestre victims, expects that male-female ratio to change within five to 10 > years to reflect a trend that began in the 1970s when the church welcomed > female altar servers. Researchers say disclosure of abuse is typically > delayed for about 30 years, which means women assaulted as children are just > starting to come to terms with what happened. > > “In some of our Sylvestre cases, which are (from) the ‘70s, many of the women > were victimized under the pretenses of ‘I’m training you to be one of these > new, upcoming female altar servers,’" said Talach, who has represented more > than 100 victims of clergy abuse, most of them male. > > “We’ve seen priests using that to look innovative to their parishioners, but > in reality it was to allow them access to women if their predilection was > female.” > > Father Donald Holmes, a modern cleric who rode a motorcycle, sported a beard, > played hockey and preferred street clothes to his Roman collar, also preyed > on girls as they began taking bigger roles in the church. He was convicted in > 2002 of sexually abusing 12 girls around the Sudbury area between 1972 and > 1984. > > In general, girls in Canada are four times more likely than boys to be > victims of sexual offences, according to police figures reported to Stats > Canada. > > Females are more likely to be attractive to clergy because the majority of > priests are heterosexual — but some are psychologically and sexually > immature, says former priest-turned-lawyer Patrick Wall. > > “If they’re going to explore sexually, they’re going to explore with a little > girl,” said Wall, a California-based expert on Catholic clergy abuse who now > works with victims. > > Wall’s perspective on the degree of female abuse is unique. He was a > Benedictine monk for 12 years, working as a “fixer” dispatched to tidy up > messy sexual problems of priests and laymen at troubled parishes and schools. > He said when a girl required surgery after rape, the code was that she needed > a “hernia” operation. > > In a bizarre twinning, he counselled accused priests and heard confessions > from traumatized victims. He also worked on cases where priests impregnated > girls then procured abortions for them. > > “That is so prevalent, it happens all the time,” he said of the abortion > runs, which in part accounts for his belief that teenaged girls are the > silent majority of priest-related sexual abuse. > > By age 33, Wall deduced most, if not all, of the 195 parishes and hundreds of > religious orders in the U.S. employed “fixers” like him to wipe down crime > scenes that involved children. He quit religious life in disgust and scoffs > at the Vatican’s pledge to better protect boys and girls from its surpliced > predators. > > “This is the biggest company in the world, they are not going to shift and > move,” Wall said. “They’re going to keep building the Ford Pinto, they’re > going to take their lumps (from public opinion) and move on.” > > “It doesn’t matter what the law is, whether it’s the Canadian police or the > U.S. police. They’re not going to tell anybody (about criminal behaviour),” > he added. > > Santa Clara University psychology professor Thomas Plante has treated and > evaluated about 60 clergy sex offenders, including Catholic priests. He said > most exhibited a variety of psychiatric troubles, such as personality and > impulse control disorders, even brain damage as comorbidity factors > complicating their sexual behaviours. > > Plante said differing degrees of disorders means “these guys aren’t all > alike” and range from ruthless serial offenders like Sylvestre to those who > commit one act. > > If mentally unhealthy priests are attacking children, it doesn’t prevent the > church from using its formidable financial and legal resources to defend > their accused, said Wall. > > The former priest said the church is particularly vicious with women, > deploying its “whore defence” to paint schoolgirls as harlots and intimidate > them from pursuing criminal and civil complaints. > > McLauchlin, now working and married, said victims “need to outlast” the > church as she did during a three-year civil case against the London > archdiocese. It was settled last September for an undisclosed amount. > > During her case, the diocese demanded McLauchlin submit to a psychological > assessment in Toronto. She said she was “interrogated” for 10 hours by a > clinician and made to relive Sylvestre’s assaults in graphic detail — even > though her mother had kept the “horrific” gynecologist’s report from 27 years > ago. > > “(The assessment) was very demeaning and at certain times, it was crude and > it didn’t need to be,” said McLauchlin, whose abuse began when she was about > 4 and ended at 6 when her unsuspecting family moved to Chatham. > > “Ultimately, I stood my ground,” she said. “It’s a game of survivor (and > church officials) just want to wear you down.” > > McLauchlin kept Sylvestre’s abuse a secret from her family until the priest > was arrested. By the time she approached Crown prosecutors, a deal had been > struck with Sylvestre — then 84 years old, feeble and brain-addled with > dementia — to plead guilty to all counts. > > The priest who duped her parents with friendship to gain their trust — and > access to their daughter — died three months into his three-year sentence in > 2007. Though McLauchlin feels resolving her court case has given her a fresh > start in life, she is haunted by why, despite 1962 police reports from girls > he abused, the church shielded Sylvestre. > > “I wish every single day of my life they had done something,” said McLauchlin > of high-ranking officials in the London diocese, including archbishops who > reigned during Sylvestre’s tenure. > > “The last place he was a priest was Pain Court (and) this would never have > happened to me.” >
