From Dan Tepfer, CT Post:
The Roman Catholic Diocese has agreed to pay settlements to five men who claimed in lawsuits they were sexually abused as children by four priests in the 1970s and 80s.
The amount of the settlements was not disclosed but the law firm that represented the five men had been seeking several million dollars.
“These pedophile priests used religion to gain access and trust. Our clients came forward to try to prevent this type of abuse from occurring again and to hold the Diocese responsible.” said Jason Tremont, whose law firm, Tremont, Sheldon, Robinson and Mahoney represents the plaintiffs.
Full story here.
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To pledge the days of one’s life to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ from seminary training, to ordination and then living a celibate life in a parish community for the rest of your days is what Roman Catholic clergy signed for although like many younger men, they had no clue as to the implications.
We know as adults the difficulty of attempting to live a life of integrity no matter one’s vocation or personal circumstances. The fact that the power of human sexuality was present and knowledge was not present in appropriate manner led to situations where the power, respect and trust were abused against the youngest in a community on too many occasions. And diocesan leaders foundered when called upon for healing for victims, for responsibility for cover-ups, and for failure to have zero tolerance for the most serious predatory practitioners.
The court docket may be cleared at the moment of people who suffered and can still sue for damages to assist in healing. But the suffering of other victims will continue for life, unrecognized as survivors deal in shame carrying the burden alone. And there are people in the pews who have never thought about this profound disease of my church and still consider that it is over. But the damage to lives and souls remains as part of church history. And more stories will come out. Time will tell.