# In Soviet Russia, children molest YOU! \[Edited title: Jesuit Priest blames sex abuse victims\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 31, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293 "2012-08-31T18:36:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/1 "2012-08-31T18:36:33Z")
From the “And You Thought Republicans Were Out of Touch” file: [Priest apologizes after sex abuse comments draw ire](http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/31/priest-apologizes-after-sex-abuse-comments-draw-ire/). > [@](#): > > A prominent Catholic friar has apologized for saying that child victims of sex abuse may at times bear some of the responsibility for the attacks because they can seduce their assailants, and that first-time sex offenders should not receive jail time. […] > > [Rev. Benedict] Groeschel’s initial comments were published following a Register interview this week in which he was asked about those dealing with abuse. > > "People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to - a psychopath. But that’s not the case. Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. **A lot of the cases, the youngster - 14, 16, 18 - is the seducer,"** he said. > > When asked to elaborate, Groeschel speculated that victims may be tempted to seduce authority figures in pursuit of a father figure. He then referred to Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach and convicted sex offender, as a “poor guy.” > > “Here’s this poor guy - Sandusky - it went on for years. Interesting: Why didn’t anyone say anything? Apparently, a number of kids knew about it and didn’t break the ice. Well, you know, until recent years, people did not register in their minds that it was a crime. It was a moral failure, scandalous; but they didn’t think of it in terms of legal things.” […] > > Groeschel, whose answers in the interview at times seemed rambling, also said that first-time child sexual predators should not be imprisoned. > > "I’m inclined to think, on their first offense, **[the abusers] should not go to jail because their intention was not committing a crime,"** he said. For what it’s worth, I know how this guy feels – I can’t go anywhere near a playground these days without dozens of children offering me free candy. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/2 "2012-08-31T18:50:57Z")
[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/nyregion/in-interview-the-rev-benedict-groeschel-says-abuse-victims-can-be-seducers.html?\_r=2&ref=nyregion](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/nyregion/in-interview-the-rev-benedict-groeschel-says-abuse-victims-can-be-seducers.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion) > [@](#): > > “People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to — a psychopath, but that’s not the case,” he said. Asked why a child might act as a seducer, he said: “A kid looking for a father and didn’t have his own — and they won’t be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but not having intercourse or anything like that.” Sure, intercourse is wrong, but what’s a little heavy petting between a boy and his priest? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/3 "2012-08-31T18:58:08Z")
Because of course, that’s the sort of thing children do with their parents. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/4 "2012-08-31T18:59:41Z")
I know I have to fight them off all the time. Damn kids, always trying to lure me into sex with them! They are the ones who should go to jail!! ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/5 "2012-08-31T19:08:33Z")
Wait! So that 8-year-old girl with the leash in her hand _didn’t really_ lose her puppy? Man. I spent an hour wandering through that park looking for it. No wonder she kept wanting me to look for it from her panel van. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/6 "2012-08-31T19:10:07Z")
As always, > [@article](#): > > Catholic League president Bill Donohue defended Groeschel, saying his statements were taken **out of context.** (emphasis added) Somehow the journalists never quote the \*context \*right before where the person said, “I would never say anything so dumb as…” ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/7 "2012-08-31T19:44:11Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > For what it’s worth, I know how this guy feels – I can’t go anywhere near a playground these days without dozens of children offering me free candy. :rolleyes: Well…I like free candy and I’d go more often to the playground, but I’m worried about getting the kids into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/8 "2012-08-31T19:55:13Z")
I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s 79 years old, and… > [@](#): > > …Groeschel was in a car accident seven years ago that put him in a coma for more than a month. > > “In recent months his health, memory and cognitive ability have been failing,” the group said. “He has been in and out of the hospital.” On the other hand, the editors of the _National Catholic Register_ ought to be punched in the face for failing to approve an interview with a senile monk before publication. Bill Donohue ought to be punched in the face for being Bill Donohue. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/9 "2012-08-31T20:02:48Z")
Unfortunate thread title. I dismissed him as some minor Russian priest. But then I read the link. Father Benedict Groeschel, _ **the director of the Office for Spiritual Development for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York** _… shit, he’s not some parish priest from Wherevistan. He’s in an important position, and should know better. Or is it all those silent Catholics out there that should know better? I wish they’d come out and denounce the evil in their denomination. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/10 "2012-08-31T20:32:48Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’m inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s 79 years old, and… > > On the other hand, the editors of the _National Catholic Register_ ought to be punched in the face for failing to approve an interview with a senile monk before publication. > > Bill Donohue ought to be punched in the face for being Bill Donohue. Bullshit! The guy is still serving as an officer and hosts a tv show. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/11 "2012-08-31T20:35:36Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Unfortunate thread title. I dismissed him as some minor Russian priest. But then I read the link.. Agreed. I wasn’t going to bother reading it at first, and it took me a while to figure out what the deal was when I did. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/12 "2012-08-31T20:42:00Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Unfortunate thread title. I dismissed him as some minor Russian priest. But then I read the link. > > Father Benedict Groeschel, _ **the director of the Office for Spiritual Development for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York** _… shit, he’s not some parish priest from Wherevistan. He’s in an important position, and should know better. > > Or is it all those silent Catholics out there that should know better? I wish they’d come out and denounce the evil in their denomination. No. The story does indeed say he is, but that’s not true. The director is an acquaintance of mine, actually: [Dr. Ann Marie Wallace](http://www.archny.org/archives/spiritual-development/), and she’s had that job at least eight years. Fr. Groeschal founded the office about forty years ago. He is not the director. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/13 "2012-09-01T01:25:17Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Unfortunate thread title. Actually, the thread title is one of the best things about it. The OP is at least using the correct form of the expression, _“In **Soviet** Russia…”_ Too often around here, people leave out the word “_Soviet_,” and the joke loses its punch. It’s like saying _“Rio, by Simon LeBon.”_ ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/14 "2012-09-01T01:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=Belowjob2.0’s link] “People have this picture in their minds of a person planning to — a psychopath, but that’s not the case,” he said. Asked why a child might act as a seducer, he said: “A kid looking for a father and didn’t have his own — and they won’t be planning to get into heavy-duty sex, but almost romantic, embracing, kissing, perhaps sleeping but not having intercourse or anything like that.” [/QUOTE] Does anybody else think that Groeschel’s is the voice of experience here, at least as he remembers the situation(s)? He has my perv-dar ringing. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/15 "2012-09-01T01:50:32Z")
We ought to make a list of _People too Old to be Near Cameras_. Benedict Groeschel Clint Eastwood George Bush, the Greater ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/16 "2012-09-01T01:54:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. The story does indeed say he is, but that’s not true. The director is an acquaintance of mine, actually: [Dr. Ann Marie Wallace](http://www.archny.org/archives/spiritual-development/), and she’s had that job at least eight years. > > Fr. Groeschal founded the office about forty years ago. He is not the director. So how does she feel about all the kids that molested Father Groeschal and his friends? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/17 "2012-09-01T01:57:29Z")
What’s the leading cause of pedophilia? Sexy kids. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/18 "2012-09-01T04:04:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. The story does indeed say he is, but that’s not true. The director is an acquaintance of mine, actually: [Dr. Ann Marie Wallace](http://www.archny.org/archives/spiritual-development/), and she’s had that job at least eight years. > > Fr. Groeschal founded the office about forty years ago. He is not the director. > [@Erdosain](#): > > So how does she feel about all the kids that molested Father Groeschal and his friends? And while you’re at it, how do _you_ feel about them? ---
**Author:** ![gunnergoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e95f7d/32.png) [@gunnergoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunnergoz)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/19 "2012-09-01T04:33:09Z")
I too was confused by the title of the thread, since Catholics are a very small minority in Russia, the bulk of the population being Russian Orthodox. The Orthodox Church has largely avoided the child abuse scandals that have so plagued the Roman Catholic Church. This may be in part due to the fact that, in the Orthodox Church, priests may elect to marry and have children. They divide their priests in to “Black” and “White” versions, who wear robes of the same shade, and IIRC it is the black robed ones who are allowed to marry. Promoting a normal, healthy sex life might just attract a different kind of priest into the priesthood…just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293/20 "2012-09-01T04:37:03Z")
I found out not too long ago that Donohue was once a professor at my alma mater. (this was years before I attended there). I’m so ashamed. Strangely, it was a rather liberal Catholic college. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-soviet-russia-children-molest-you-edited-title-jesuit-priest-blames-sex-abuse-victims/633293.md?page=2)