Abusive Priests Prey on the Devout: Expert

By Genevieve Gannon
West Australian
April 4, 2013

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/16547681/abusive-priests-prey-on-the-devout-expert/

Children of devout religious families are an attractive target for pedophile priests because they are less likely to report abuse, a parliamentary inquiry has heard.

Exposing an abusive religious leader puts such a child at risk of isolation from their community, their peers and their family, experts said.

Even if children do muster the courage to tell their mother or father that a priest has abused them, there is a chance they won't be believed.

This hsd happened in the past, Professor Caroline Taylor told the Victorian inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations.

Pedophile priests know this and they exploit their position of power in the community to get away with their crimes, she said.

"Non-disclosure and delayed disclosure are the key features needed by offenders in order to both avoid detection and to continue with the abuse," Prof Taylor said.

"They targeted families that were particularly devout.

"They felt that it would offer protection."

The word of a priest carried considerable power and fear for a child, she said.

"The offender ... is often viewed by the child as a representation of God and therefore often the offender has omniscient power."

Experts also said these children's relationship with God meant the damage inflicted by an abusive clergyman was far deeper than other types of abuse.

"Many child victims felt the abuse was an indicator that they were unloved by God," Prof Taylor said.

"Disclosure would further bring on the wrath of God should they tell anyone."

South Australian academic Professor Freda Briggs said this sort of abuse made priests' actions particularly damaging.

"It involves not only the child taking on the guilt for the priest, but it also involves spiritual abuse because they usually bring God into it," Prof Briggs said.

"God chose you to do this for me."

Prof Taylor said priests exerted influence on the wider community to foster a hostile environment for victims.

In small rural communities, priests used their social standing to make reporting difficult for victims, she said.

She told of one priest who used his church service to make comments in support of another priest who had recently been found guilty of abuse and sent to jail.

This led to a punch-up between the priest and a relative of the victim.

In other cases, members of the clergy made negative comments about disclosing abuse to the broader community, she said.

The inquiry continues.