Alleged priest sex abuse victim claims he told Pope John Paul II about ordeal in confession

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But all victims of everything have the same issue, except those victims of false accusation, who are also victims. Therein is one of the problems with this action. Life is imperfect and this desire to redress every wrong is a pipe dream. It will more likely cause much more harm than good, including the potential harm in the future. Under the current statute of limitations, victims have to weigh whether to act sooner. I sympathize with those who cannot, but every victim that is able to come forward in a more timely manner is one more abuser who can be stopped sooner. At what point can we say that even victims have a moral obligation to help stop future victims?

So here is an interesting point. If people can be sued for remaining silent about child abuse they were aware of, can the victim of a serial abuser sue another victim twenty years earlier for no reporting the predator?
 
mjm076 said:
I think this guy was severely damaged by the abuse he suffered from McCarrick and is contradicting himself.
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Contradictions are usually a sign of a conman? At some point reason also makes one culpable of one’s own actions when one knows what is right and wrong. I read that his abuse went on for 20 years, and that he knew he was being abused when he was 16, and elsewhere he said it started when he was 11. How can you be sexually abused when you are 30 years old? Isn’t that just homosexual activity?
 
mjm076 said:
also won’t be giving much attention to Taylor Marshall/Tim Gordon due to Tim Gordon’s, frankly, chauvinistic comments he made on Matt Fradd’s podcast.

I shall stick with Patrick Coffin!
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All of them seem to be running a businesses profiting off sensational headlines which only spread gossip and suspicion, with all sorts of ramifications for people from all walks of life.
 
angel12 said:
It could be, or it could be the psychological effects of long-term grooming and abuse.
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Probably both. He said he tried to report the abuse to his father when he was 15 or 16, so he obviously knew the difference between right and wrongly back then, yet the relationship continued?
 
I hope you’re not making the argument that the victim is somehow partly responsible for his being abused.

That doesn’t fly given what we know now about the psychology of child sexual abuse and its victims.
 
Don’t kid yourself - one can be sexually abused at 30 years old, especially if one was getting sexually abused at a young age. All one has to do is look up cases such as Jaycee Dugard or the women in Cleveland or Steven Stayner. All were sexually abused for multiple years while held captive and their abductors/abusers had a psychological hold on them as well as fed them lies. So it does happen.
 
Gab123 said:
He said he tried to report the abuse to his father when he was 15 or 16, so he obviously knew the difference between right and wrongly back then, yet the relationship continued?
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Again, psychological effects of long-term grooming and abuse. I seriously advise against victim-blaming.
 
angel12 said:
Again, psychological effects of long-term grooming and abuse. I seriously advise against victim-blaming.
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McCarrick was probably a victim and abused as a youngster too, as most abusers were abused as youngsters, yet reason gives one the knowledge between right and wrong.
 
Gab123 said:
McCarrick was probably a victim and abused as a youngster too, as most abusers were abused as youngsters, yet reason gives one the knowledge between right and wrong.
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McCarrick is not being blamed for being a possible victim of abuse. He is being blamed for the abuse he committed on others when he was an adult. Being a victim of sexual abuse does not make it okay for said victim to commit sexual abuse (a crime) on others.

By contrast, you seem to be blaming Grein for being a victim of abuse. That is victim-blaming, in other words blaming the victim for the abuse that happened to him. That is wrong; please stop trying to justify it. There is no allegation that Grein has sexually abused anyone else.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Being a victim of sexual abuse does not make it okay for said victim to commit sexual abuse
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Yes, that’s the point. I think one of the heaviest regrets is knowing that one could have said no. And It’s one thing for something to happen to you as a teenager, it’s another thing to continue a relationship into your 30s. Maria Goretti is the Patron Saint of chastity.
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angel12 said:
Again, psychological effects of long-term grooming and abuse. I seriously advise against victim-blaming.
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Not blaming him for the sexual abuse; just reminding that a teenager knows the difference between right and wrong. The good news is that no matter what one has done, peace is found through God’s grace

“Come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
-Isaiah 1:18
 
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Again, not blaming him for the sexual abuse; just reminding that a teenager knows the difference between right and wrong. it’s one thing for something to forcibly happen to you, it’s another thing for you to continue a relationship in your 30s. I’m just not buying that he didn’t have any blame in continuing the relationship until he was in his 30s.
 
Gab123 said:
Again, not blaming him for the sexual abuse
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You are blaming him for something that very probably was, at least in great part, caused by the abuse he suffered. That’s victim-blaming. It’s cruel, unjust, and uncharitable. Good-bye.
 
I’m done here too. I will not be a party to blaming a sexual abuse victim, not in this current Church environment. It’s ignorant, judgmental opinions like that, that makes people become very angry and leave the Church. Bye.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I’m done here too. I will not be a party to blaming a sexual abuse victim, not in this current Church environment. It’s ignorant…
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I have to agree with that. It is ignorant of the current environment, that is, this situation with McCarrick. However, I am concerned that in the effort to avoid any possible examination of the victims of crime, in this case sexual abuse, we are consciously refusing to consider data that might save future victims. The case of Maria Goretti is still data, even if it is offensive to our modern sensibilities.

I would think that this is a topic best left to academia, as the nature of internet dialogue is too given to emotion, politics, and ignorance.
 
angel12 said:
You are blaming him for something that very probably was, at least in great part, caused by the abuse he suffered. That’s victim-blaming. It’s cruel, unjust, and uncharitable. Good-bye
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Tis_Bearself said:
I’m done here too. I will not be a party to blaming a sexual abuse victim, not in this current Church environment. It’s ignorant, judgmental opinions like that, that makes people become very angry and leave the Church. Bye.
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Goodbye.
Though I’m simply speaking the truth. I’m not blaming any victim for abuse perpetrated against them; what I don’t buy is this specific case of a relationship lasting into his 30s, and now blaming Pope John Paul II and filing lawsuits. As for bankrupting entire dioceses with money that belongs to the members of the community, one has to be aware that there are people who are willing to make up victimhood stories. As for money and victimhood, money doesn’t bring peace. if one wants peace the first step is to forgive the one they hate, and release the anger and hate in order to find healing and serenity. As for leaving the Church over a scandal, that simply shows that people do not know what the Church is in the first place, nor do they have faith in the sacraments. As for having an opinion that isn’t politically correct, we live in an environment today where people are so afraid of simply speaking the truth.
 
I believe he can act, he simply cannot divulge the confession. No one has to stand by and allow something to continue, and there are ways to potentially alter events without discussing confession.

Not presuming this is even true, as I have serious doubts about this story.
 
I looked this up a bit and found a link. Perhaps a priest can do something, but his options are very limited. This assumes he both understood what was being confessed and believed what was being confessed in the first place.


The article discusses a situation where a priest was able to give a vague and general warning to the police about the lives of some children in the community, but that was about it.
 
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mjm076 said:
I truly think James is mentally ill and making bizarre claims, though I do believe he was abused by McCarrick.

I don’t think it was a wise choice for Taylor Marshall and Tim Gordon, as well as Michael Voris to host him on their platforms.
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Do any CAF members think that Michael Voris has exploited James Grein?
 
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