Some people think that after the Maynooth Gay Sex Scandal, the Kildorery Altar Sex Scandal, etc, that they have heard the worst of it.
Don’t kid yourselves, please.
The worst is still to come.
I’m already working on some cases.
Nearly every week now I have new people getting in touch with me – people who are the victims of sex crimes and behaviours by priests in different Irish diocese.
It can take the victim / survivor of a sex crime by a priest, a monk or a seminarian, many months and even a few years to come forward.
Such people have many feats:
1. The fear of admitting that one was a victim.
2. The fear of not being believed.
3. The fear of public disgrace.
4. The fear of hurting or being rejected by family, friends and local community.
5. The fear of the Catholic Church, it’s powerful bishops and priests and it’s limitless money and lawyers.
6. The fear of having the tables turned on you and ending up looking like the guilty one.
It takes great courage and strength for a victim to step forward and take a stand.
But such people need to remember that THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS THE TRUTH and that in the end THE TRUTH WILL WIN OUT.
RULES FOR VICTIMS OF PRIESTS:
1. Never approach the church or a bishop as your first port of call.
You will be giving them too much warning and they will use that time to build a defence for the priest and build a case against you as a trouble maker, mentally unhinged, a sore loser, a money chaser.
2. Let your first port of call be to the police to make a formal complaint and a formal statement.
3. Bring a trusted non-church person with you to the police station as moral support.
4. Next go to a solicitor and appoint him / her to look after ALL your legal interests.
5. Make sure the solicitor has no church or clerical connections.
6. Preferably appoint a solicitor with a reputation for taking cases against the Catholic Church.
7. Make sure the first time a bishop hears about the crime is when a neighbouring priest telephones the bishop to tell him the priest has been arrested – it’s called the element of surprise.
8. Never trust a Catholic Church safeguarding person or any counsellor / therapist recommended by them. Always find a counsellor / therapist with no church or clerical connections.
9. Take all the love, help and support you can get your hands on.
10. Sue the Church for every penny you can out of them even if you end up giving the money away.
11. Always remember that the CHURCH, and PRIESTS etc are not God. In fact they are the antithesis of God.
12. If you’re angry with God don’t worry. Let God “have it” with all you’re strength. He is a Big Fella. He can handle criticism.
13. Always remember that your FUTURE will be everything your PAST was not.
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 