My Response

This post is in response to an anonymous comment made in my previous post.  The comment of the anonymous poster is in red while mine are in black.  The blue are quotes taken from documents or news report.  You can find his/her comment here.

AnonymousJuly 18, 2019 at 11:43 PM

So there is one case of someone that has lied about abuse and you take it as evidence that this means there is no basis for any of the thousands of accusations of abuse against Catholic priests around the world.

Dear Anonymous at 11:43 pm, 

I am not blind to the fact that there are many priests who are being falsely accused, many of whom are long dead.  Some of those priests who were falsely accused was Father Joseph Jiang.  You can read his story here.  Another priest who was falsely accused was Father Charles Murphy.  You can read his story here.  Another priest who was falsely accused was Monsignor William McCarthy.  You can read his story here.  Another priest who was falsely accused was Father Kevin Reynolds.  You can read his story here.  I believe by now you should have gotten the picture.  This is not ONE CASE.  There are many cases, but the reason these priests were able to prove their innocence was because 1) they were still alive at the time of the accusations (Dead priests cannot defend themselves) and 2) PROPER INVESTIGATION was conducted. 

Even the vatican does not deny that the church is at fault for covering up all these cases. Do you consider yourself to know better than the pope? 

Like the Pope, I also acknowledged that the Church was at fault for the cover-up of abuse cases by transferring abusive priests to other dioceses.  But like the Pope, I also acknowledge that there are some priests who have been falsely accused.  While it is true that there are indeed a few priests who have sexually abused children, sex abuse is more of a problem OUTSIDE the Church rather than inside the Church.  According to news report (the bold is mine):

Francis vowed that the Roman Catholic church would “spare no effort” to bring abusers to justice and would not cover up or underestimate abuse, but a significant part of the pontiff’s closing speech focused on the prevalence of child abuse across society. 

Citing data, he said that the majority of cases arose within families and that the perpetrators of abuse were “primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child brides and teachers”. He also said that online pornography and sex tourism amplified the issue. 

“Our work has made us realise once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” he said. “I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites.” 

In Guam, we know for certain that Father Louis Brouillard was sexually molesting young boys, NOT because he admitted his guilt, but because HE WAS REPORTED to the police and ARRESTED.  Archbishop Flores covered it up by transferring him off-island.  According to news report:

And, a self-described, 30 year veteran of the Guam police force, who called into my radio show, stated that he had arrested a Catholic priest who molested a young alter boy on Guam. He stated that after his arrest, the priest admitted to molesting multiple victims on Guam.

According to the retired police officer, this entire incident was covered up by former Archbishop Flores. The alleged offending priest was, according to the retired officer, promptly shipped off-island shortly after his arrest, and never faced justice on Guam. 

So, Father Brouillard was REPORTED AND ARRESTED!  So much for the idea that the Chamorro culture consist of parents who call their children "liars" when saying that the priests molested them. Father Brouillard was reported and arrested.  And this happened BECAUSE some of those boys DID tell their parents, and their parents BELIEVED their children and reported the criminal offense to the police.  Guam is not a culture of parents who would put criminal priests above their children.  We are not a culture who disregard the well-being of our children.  However, Archbishop Flores shipped Father Brouillard off-island to escape the hands of justice in Guam. 

Your disregard for the wellbeing of children is shocking; you claim to be christian but care more about the church's reputation than the lives of innocent children. How dare you refer to the destruction of people's lives (this case may have been a lie, but thousands have been proven true in the courts around the world) as 'the circus-like frenzy the media has created'. 

Let us get this straight.  The alleged victims who are currently coming out accusing dead priests are NOT CHILDREN!!!!  They are adults.

If you want to see children coming out to the police, here are a couple of examples:  The child who came forward was a 15 year old who accused a man of sexually assaulting her (See story here).  Another was a woman who filed a police report against a man after noticing her 4 year old daughter's strange behavior (See story here).  As you can see, Guam's culture and attitude has not changed in regards to her children.  After all, there were children who reported Father Brouilllard many years ago, which was the reason for his ARREST.

However, TODAY, all those who accused the priests (including dead priests)  of sexual abuse are ALL ADULTS.  None of them were children.