Second man accuses Foley priest of sex abuse

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davy39

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Another man in Florida has come forward and says that he was molested as a boy, by the same priest that molested Tom Foley. The diocese in Florida is looking into the claim. This was reported on ABC news this afternoon.
 
I don’t know what to make of this. Is this a legitimate accusation or is this trying to take advantage of an attack on the Church?
 
davy39 said:
Another man in Florida has come forward and says that he was molested as a boy, by the same priest that molested Tom Foley. The diocese in Florida is looking into the claim. This was reported on ABC news this afternoon.
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I’m not suprised. I am sure there will be more as well. Molesters normally abuse over & over again. 😦

Why is your first reaction get out the checkbook? My first reaction is how horrible that another person suffered because of that pervert.
 
carol_marie said:
I’m not suprised. I am sure there will be more as well. Molesters normally abuse over & over again. 😦

Why is your first reaction get out the checkbook? My first reaction is how horrible that another person suffered because of that pervert.
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Because the Church has paid millions of dollars for claims that have not been proven beyond a resonable doubt, just to stay out the headlines. Yes, if it is true, the victim has suffered greatly, and has everybodys sympathy and prayers. The part I don’t understand is why does it take them so long to “remember” such a tragic thing? Is there a psychiatrist in the house?
 
davy39 said:
Because the Church has paid millions of dollars for claims that have not been proven beyond a resonable doubt, just to stay out the headlines. Yes, if it is true, the victim has suffered greatly, and has everybodys sympathy and prayers. The part I don’t understand is why does it take them so long to “remember” such a tragic thing? Is there a psychiatrist in the house?
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My sentiments exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself. I find it hard to believe that ALL these priests are child molesters. Yes, I do believe that these horrific things have gone on, but I also believe that some of this is a “witch hunt.” And it is either for money or just to attack the Church.:confused:

Teelynn
 
I’m not sure that it’s either the money or an attack on the Church. Sometimes people just like the attention that comes with notoriety. And, sadly, sometimes people hear what has happened to other people and “create” memories to fit what they believed may have happened to them. Memories are such fragile things to hang a person’s reputation on–these accusers should be able to prove what happened to them, through witnesss, diary accounts, third party accounts, or other evidence, before they’re given too much credence.
 
Holly(name removed by moderator) said:
I’m not sure that it’s either the money or an attack on the Church. Sometimes people just like the attention that comes with notoriety. And, sadly, sometimes people hear what has happened to other people and “create” memories to fit what they believed may have happened to them. Memories are such fragile things to hang a person’s reputation on–these accusers should be able to prove what happened to them, through witnesss, diary accounts, third party accounts, or other evidence, before they’re given too much credence.
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I hear what you’re saying… but how does a person who was abused maybe 20 years ago produce any evidence? If he was 15 when he was a victim, and was too embarassed to tell anyone - how would he go about substantiating his claim? What I go on is the confession of the Priest himself - where he said that he swam naked & touched Foley but thought it was no big deal since there wasn’t any “penetration.” What a sicko. Since these types of abusers go from victim to victim, I’m not surprised in the least that another person has come forward. Why someone waits so long to tell? I have no idea… I’ve never been a victim of abuse. I do believe there’s a great deal of shame involved… but the fact that they wait doesn’t mean it never happened.

I don’t think it’s a case of others wanting to bring the Church down. I think it’s a case of perverted Priests having their way with young boys and the Church doing almost nothing to stop them. It’s all catching up with us now. 😦
 
carol_marie said:
I hear what you’re saying… but how does a person who was abused maybe 20 years ago produce any evidence? If he was 15 when he was a victim, and was too embarassed to tell anyone - how would he go about substantiating his claim? What I go on is the confession of the Priest himself - where he said that he swam naked & touched Foley but thought it was no big deal since there wasn’t any “penetration.” What a sicko. Since these types of abusers go from victim to victim, I’m not surprised in the least that another person has come forward. Why someone waits so long to tell? I have no idea… I’ve never been a victim of abuse. I do believe there’s a great deal of shame involved… but the fact that they wait doesn’t mean it never happened.

I don’t think it’s a case of others wanting to bring the Church down. I think it’s a case of perverted Priests having their way with young boys and the Church doing almost nothing to stop them. It’s all catching up with us now. 😦
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I realize it’s hard for the victims to produce evidence, but if charges like these are going to be made, evidence…some sort of evidence has to be produced. Otherwise, what’s to prevent an all out attack on the Church ala a witchhunt?

Evidence is necessary not only to go after those who are guilty, but also to protect those who are innocent of any wrongdoing.
 
LRThunder said:
I realize it’s hard for the victims to produce evidence, but if charges like these are going to be made, evidence…some sort of evidence has to be produced. Otherwise, what’s to prevent an all out attack on the Church ala a witchhunt?

Evidence is necessary not only to go after those who are guilty, but also to protect those who are innocent of any wrongdoing.
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I suppose it’s the perfect crime then because I just don’t see how someone could produce any evidence. Maybe the victims realize this and that’s why they don’t come forward?? I wouldn’t be suprised if the abusers tell them that no one will believe them.

The whole thing is so sad. I take comfort knowing that if the abusers don’t answer for their crimes in this life, they WILL answer in the next - God is a perfect Judge and he doesn’t need evidence.
 
carol_marie said:
I suppose it’s the perfect crime then because I just don’t see how someone could produce any evidence. Maybe the victims realize this and that’s why they don’t come forward?? I wouldn’t be suprised if the abusers tell them that no one will believe them.

The whole thing is so sad. I take comfort knowing that if the Priests don’t answer for their crimes in this life, they WILL answer in the next - God is a perfect Judge and he doesn’t need evidence.
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I want the perpetrators brought to justice as well, but accusations alone shouldn’t be enough. I’m not thinking only of priests regarding abuse allegations, but of all criminal defendants.
 
carol_marie said:
I hear what you’re saying… but how does a person who was abused maybe 20 years ago produce any evidence? If he was 15 when he was a victim, and was too embarassed to tell anyone - how would he go about substantiating his claim? What I go on is the confession of the Priest himself - where he said that he swam naked & touched Foley but thought it was no big deal since there wasn’t any “penetration.” What a sicko. Since these types of abusers go from victim to victim, I’m not surprised in the least that another person has come forward. Why someone waits so long to tell? I have no idea… I’ve never been a victim of abuse. I do believe there’s a great deal of shame involved… but the fact that they wait doesn’t mean it never happened.

I don’t think it’s a case of others wanting to bring the Church down. I think it’s a case of perverted Priests having their way with young boys and the Church doing almost nothing to stop them. It’s all catching up with us now. 😦
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In my opinion, any trial without evidence is akin to the Salem witch trials. I would hope that we’ve learned since then that evidence is necessary before convicting a person.

One thing I noticed was that the priest’s words evolved over time. It started with “yes, we were naked together in the sauna and sometimes I gave him a massage when he was naked.” Eventually, it became “yes, I touched him, but he wasn’t upset by it.” He admitted himself that he was under medication at that time and he is, from my observations, not an entirely healthy man right now. Memories are too easy to create (read any of Dr. Elizabeth Loftus’ experiments on false memories) for ONLY memory to be an effective thing to hang evidence upon.
 
The part I don’t understand is why does it take them so long to “remember” such a tragic thing? Is there a psychiatrist in the house?
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Some of them don’t come forward until they see another victim take the first step.
This happened in a local case.
One man decided to sue. There was no question of the priest’s guilt - he admitted it.
Later 3 others joined in the suit.

The sad thing is…those of us who grew up with these boys know they are only a small fraction of the real number involved.

So…while some of you automatically are suspect of an accuser’s motivations when you read about these cases…my first thought is “one or two out of how many? 15?20?”

BTW…despite the priest’s admitted guilt…the lawsuit was thrown out due to statute of limitations. They received nothing.
 
I realize it’s hard for the victims to produce evidence, but if charges like these are going to be made, evidence…some sort of evidence has to be produced. Otherwise, what’s to prevent an all out attack on the Church ala a witchhunt?
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I was a 10 yr. old kid at the time who had not even been told yet about the birds and the bees.
I struggled with the priest for 5-10 mins. until a classmate came and helped pull me away from him.

All I have is my vivid memory of this incident which has never changed throughout the years…what sort of evidence do you suggest I come up with?
 
My sentiments exactly! Couldn’t have said it better myself. I find it hard to believe that ALL these priests are child molesters
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Unfortunately my perspective is much different than yours.
I have no problem whatsoever believing that the great majority of these accusations are true. I find it very easy to believe all these priests are molesting kids.
I think it is possible a small fraction of the accusations are made up…but there is NOT much motivation for a person to do this.
I know many of you think there is alot of money flowing out there, but there isn’t. Many cases have been tossed due to statute of limitations. Many court awards are greatly reduced during appeals, and after the lawyers get their cut, victims do not receive as much as some of you think.

To accuse someone, to hire a lawyer, to go through the exhausting legal process, to endure accusations of credibility and greed…that is a daunting step for anyone - even those who are telling the 100% truth.
 
Lorarose said:
Unfortunately my perspective is much different than yours.
I have no problem whatsoever believing that the great majority of these accusations are true. I find it very easy to believe all these priests are molesting kids.
I think it is possible a small fraction of the accusations are made up…but there is NOT much motivation for a person to do this.
I know many of you think there is alot of money flowing out there, but there isn’t. Many cases have been tossed due to statute of limitations. Many court awards are greatly reduced during appeals, and after the lawyers get their cut, victims do not receive as much as some of you think.

To accuse someone, to hire a lawyer, to go through the exhausting legal process, to endure accusations of credibility and greed…that is a daunting step for anyone - even those who are telling the 100% truth.
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To believe that all priests are molesting kids is not, absolutely not in the slightest bit, the same thing as believing accusations to be credible. I, personally, do believe that these allegations should be taken seriously. Now, for the other side, I think that if their are any priests (or anyone else falsely accused), their ministry and reputation should be restored. Furthermore, I do not believe in the slightest bit that most, let alone, all, priests are abusers.
 
I did not say ALL priests are molesters…good grief!!

I’m referring to the accused priests.
One poster stated she did not believe that all these priests could be molesting…I took that to mean she was referring to the ones that have been accused.
I understood that to mean she believes most of the accusations are suspect.

I was responding to that…I have a different perspective.
I believe the majority of accusations are true.

No where did I state that all priests are molesters.
 
These perverts never have just one victim, unfortunately it typically turns out to be dozens, I would be careful about calling the victim a liar and taking the side of an admitted child abuser. For all we know the victim was assaulted, and came forward because the Church urged any other victims to come forward, exactly like the victim said.
 
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