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church lawsuit encompasses a range of illegal and unacceptable actions often commited against children and adolescents by pedophilic priests or other church employees involving sexual abuse of varying amounts. The sexual assault can be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it might involve several acts inside a continuing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” relationship with a young child spawned by the predatory intent of a church member, cloaked with the trust and reverence provided to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.

Within all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the failure by the Church member’s employer to entirely, adequately and immediately disclose the offense to police and other authorities, or its further failure to investigate, address and deal fully with the situation increases the effects on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Clergy Sexual Abuse cases reported in the press highlight these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the predator frequently a clergy in the Catholic Church, is silently moved from one church to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal action on an innocent parish community.

Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice

Not a week passes without a news announcement reporting about 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 survivor of sexual assault from a priest or other clergy member, these stories are most likely to serve as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, embarrassment, guilt and other unwanted feelings staining your wellness. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage them to reveal the abuse they suffered, victims of assault are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifelong harm and injury they have suffered.

If you are a victim of assault commited by a priest, the result of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system might be immeasurable. Nonetheless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions accountable for their crimes and indifference can provide a measure of justice and recompense to assault victims. Commonly, victims can leverage their legal rights through confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is necessary, a motion might be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.

Abusive Behavior

All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory tricks which are commonly referred to as grooming, tracking a potential assault victim. Below is a list of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority relative to the subordinate young child.

Grooming

Grooming is a significant part of a predator’s ploy. In a church setting, the clergy member is revered as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator often works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a target is identified, these vulnerabilities – such as violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically exploited in the following ways:

Trust

An assaulter will initially work to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to discern as religious communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign genuine concern in the child’s wellbeing and groeth – both emotional and religious.

Reliance

As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, 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 victim will spend increased time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential target may receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, intangible presents like blessings and special recognition.

Isolation

As the grooming progresses, the predator will work to isolate the potential target. This might result in individual counseling meetings, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated encounters.

Sexualization

The predator might start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to gauge the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship advances to one of a physical, sexual nature.

Maintenance

As the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to keep control of the child and the continued interaction. The priest may likely seek to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the inappropriate physical relationship.

Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors

The effect of childhood abuse on the survivor can be overwhelming and life-changing. Several priest assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the abuse including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems creating and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can help survivors overcome these effects.

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