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Young Girls Were Sexually Abused by a Church Member. They Were Told to Forgive and Forget. (www.propublica.org)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/news@lemmy.world
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  • Protecting an Abuser: Leaders of a Minnesota church didn’t report a parishioner to police though they knew he’d sexually abused girls for years and had been told reporting it was their duty.
  • Forgive and Forget: Church leaders held meetings where children were told to forgive the man who sexually abused them and forget the abuse. If they spoke of it, the sin would be theirs.
  • Missed Opportunities: Prosecutors had at least one opportunity to intervene but hoped educating church leaders about their duties would encourage them to cooperate with authorities.
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[–] 51 points 11 months ago (3 children)

One of the priests at the Catholic school/church I went to was a family friend.

Years later it came out that he had been abusing an altar boy who was just 1 grade behind me. I’d see this kid all the time.

When my mom told me he had been arrested and why, she said “But don’t tell anyone” - because he was “a friend”.

I said bullshit - I’m telling everybody I see.

He’s in prison forever now but that poor kid…and that’s just the one I know about.

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  • [–] 16 points 11 months ago

    There was a pedophile priest who had the parents of a boy he molested complain to the bishop. The bishop, in his wisdom, moved him to be a teacher in my school. An all-boys boarding school. A few years after I was there, he was convicted of molesting a boy at the school, as well as the original case. His sentence was 2 years of probation. He died in his 90s just a couple of years ago, and his obituary was full of praise and warm memories.

    Meanwhile, one of the boys in my class who I now can see was being groomed by this priest, took his own life before he was 50, after what was described as a very difficult life. I think it's pretty obvious why.

    In the 40+ years since I left that high school, no one from the school or the diocese has ever contacted me or my family to see if we saw or experienced any abuse.

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  • [–] 11 points 11 months ago*

    If I learn a "friend" abused a kid... They're not my friend anymore, and likely never will be again

    A friend isn't a sacred thing, if someone turns out to be a piece of shit, I drop them like a stone. They're dead to me. I will never excuse someone's abhorrent behaviour like that. To still stay friends with them and maybe even excuse or hide what they did.. is unthinkable to me

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