Clergy Abuse Information

Clergy Abuse includes a range of immoral and improper acts often perpetrated on children and adolescents by pedophilic priests or other church members involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The sexual assault might be a one-off, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may involve numerous assaults inside an ongoing interaction. For example, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a child spawned by the predatory behavior of a church member, blanketed with the trust and respect provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual abuse acts of molestation.

In all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the short-coming by the Church member’s superior to entirely, adequately and immediately disclose the crime to police and other authorities, or its continuing failure to research, contend with and deal entirely with the occurrence increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Priest Sexual Abuse cases reported in the media show these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations when the perpetrator commonly a priest in the Catholic Church, is quietly re-assigned from one parish to another only to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unaware parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Retribution
Not a day goes by without a media headline reporting regarding sexual abuse and molestation of young children by pedophile priests, or the aftermath of the abuse on the victims and their families. If you are a victim of sexual abuse from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwanted thoughts staining your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other pathways that encourage them to disclose the assault they experienced, survivors of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime damage and injury they have suffered.

If you are a victim of assault perpetrated by a priest, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system might be incalculable. Nonetheless, holding the responsible priest and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference can offer a measure of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Frequently, clergy abuse New Jersey can leverage their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is necessary, a motion can be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.

Abusive Behavior
All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory tactics which are generally referred to as grooming, targeting a potential abuse victim. Following is a survey of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority relative to the subordinate child.

Grooming
Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s ploy. In a church setting, the priest is revered as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, understanding each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and situations. Once a target is located, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:

Trust
An assaulter will first work to gain the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as religious communities are often tight-knit and personal relation with clergy is commonplace. Here, the predator can pretend genuine interest in the child’s wellness and development – both emotional and religious.

Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The child will devote more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible target might receive gifts from the priest, including valuable, intangible presents such as blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
As the grooming continues, the predator might try to isolate the potential target. This might result in single counseling meetings, meals or other methods of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator might start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and various actions that lead to sexual interaction. This might start with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s response to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
As the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator may likely seek to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the target feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever ways necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The impact of childhood abuse on the survivor can be overwhelming and life-altering. Several clergy assault survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can help survivors overcome these effects.

Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Assault can gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more frequently, from the church for its failure to protect the victim from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your experience and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.