{"id":436,"date":"2011-04-15T08:18:03","date_gmt":"2011-04-15T14:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/?p=436"},"modified":"2011-04-15T08:19:11","modified_gmt":"2011-04-15T14:19:11","slug":"the-kids-enjoy-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/the-kids-enjoy-it-436.htm","title":{"rendered":"The Kids Enjoy It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A friend of mine many years ago knew a priest who was accused of sexual abuse. The priest\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>denied it with tears, saying it was all a fabrication. My friend believed him and hired the best defense lawyer in town and got the priest off.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Then the priest was accused again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

My friend asked him, \u201cWhat gives?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The priest responded, \u201cYou don\u2019t understand, the kids enjoy it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bishop Vangheluwe of Belgium was accused of abusing his nephew. The bishop admitted it and the nephew recorded the conversation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But the statute of limitations had run out, and Vangheluwe could not be prosecuted. The Vatican has ordered Vangheluwe to leave Belgium, but the bishop continues to give interviews<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Bishop Roger Vangheluwe defended himself on television by saying the abuse he committed was only “superficial.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vangheluwe, who quit his post and went into hiding a year ago after admitting to molesting a nephew, confessed in the interview on Thursday evening that he had molested a second one.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his interview, Vangheluwe told VT4 television he was sorry for molesting his nephews but did not consider himself a pedophile or see the acts as anything serious.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“It had nothing to do with sexuality,” he said. “I have often been involved with children and I never felt the slightest attraction. It was a certain intimacy that took place.”<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“I don’t have the impression at all that I am a pedophile. It was really just a small relationship. I did not have the feeling that my nephew was against it, quite the contrary.”<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He continued<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“How did it start? As in all families: when they came to visit, my nephews would stay over,” Vangheluwe said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“It began as a kind of game with this boy. It was never a question of rape, or physical violence. He never saw me naked and there was no penetration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I don’t in the slightest have any sense I am a paedophile. I don’t get the impression my nephew was opposed, quite the contrary,” he added, before admitting “I knew it wasn’t good, I confessed it several times.”<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Imitating his spiritual ancestor, Archbishop Leonard has washed his hands of the matter:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Brussels Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard, who is head of the Belgian bishops conference, has caused controversy by saying the Church had no obligation to compensate victims.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pedophiles justify their actions to themselves by saying that the children enjoy it, that they are initiating them into sex, that it is a trivial mater and why does everyone have to get excited.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How widespread is this attitude among the clergy? A bishop has it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Confession is also an issue. At one time the practice of auricular confession was rigorous. Penitents were not given absolution until they had demonstrated reform and performed the assigned penance.\u00a0 <\/span>Then Alphonse de Ligouri emphasized mercy and easier penances.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

An Australian priest had abused for decades and said he went to confession hundreds of times. \u00a0<\/span>He was given absolution hundreds of times. Something is wrong withtnat<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What has gone wrong?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Serious sins need serious penances, not three Our Fathers<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There has also been a flattening of the concept of mortal sin, in which sexual fantasies are deserve hell as rape, incest, child abuse, and genocide. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Catholic Church as a bigger problem than just pedophiles in the clergy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If the Vatican laicizes Vangheluwe, they lose all control of him. What should the pope do?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A friend of mine many years ago knew a priest who was accused of sexual abuse. The priest\u00a0 \u00a0denied it with tears, saying it was all a fabrication. My friend believed him and hired the best defense lawyer in town and got the priest off. \u00a0 Then the priest was accused again. \u00a0 My friend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[395,3],"tags":[1174,32,366,410],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belgium","category-clergy-sex-abuse","tag-confession","tag-pedophilia","tag-penance","tag-vangheluwe","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}