Chaplains, sexual abuse and what the military knows.
Comment: There are more details on this at the Navy Times. It's people like Lee that have caused me to loose faith in the Catholic Church. The church makes so much money that they have there own currency and country why can the not spend more money on screaning the people that represents it's self. With cases like this I can only blame the church.
Comment: There are futher details in the Navy Tmes about this disgusting excuse for a human. People like Lee are the reason for my lack in faith i religon, especialy the Catholic church. With more and more cases like this one ould think that the Church wold be more Proactive in the screaning of the people who represents it. The church can afford it being the richest business in the world.
Comment: Too bad they don't have firing squads anymore...or hangings.
Comment: I thought if you knowingly have HIV/AIDS and engage in sexual intercourse with someone then thats murder?
Comment: I thought if you knowingly have HIV/AIDS and have intercourse with someone then thats murder?
Comment: The "AIDS Bandit" Alberto Gonzales died in prison in 1995 for spreading AIDS knowingly. Then there's this guy... 2 years in prison. Only TWO- for molesting people that TRUSTED him, when there are people guilty of much less serving decades all over this country. It's dirty all the way through. This verdict will haunt everyone involved.
Comment: just another case of don't ask don't tell not being the best course of action
leroysautoair@hotmail.com
usn retired
Comment: It is a crying shame for those that are supposedly trusted individuals by both by the public and in the military as Chaplins or clergy that abuse the authority and gift that God has given them, especailly those in need of spiritualy guidence or psycological assistance. I am very disappointed at these men or women that use their authority for their personal gain with disregard to the other people involved. It is unfortunate that these individuals were not investigated thourghly upon their initail commissioning. I can not understand how this can happen, especaily since there is a background check before entering the military. Is there not?
Comment: I just think it is very sad that a few men can make the military chaplains and all pastors/priests of all religions look bad! What kind of message does this send to non-christians? As a christian I think it is important to stand behind the church and remember that in the end God will pour out the judgement on these cowards!
Jenny
Comment: These aren't children that are being molested. These are grown men and women. He didn't hold them down and rape them. How is this sex abuse. Unethical yes, but illegal. If he wasn't gay would he be going to prison?
Comment: Severn,
I do not believe that neither sexual orientation nor age has any bearing on the breach of trust and power inflicted by this man. First, the position of clergy and secondly as a United States Naval Officer holds this man to a much higher moral standard than that of a normal citizen. This is a man whom as a Christian, I would hold in high regard as the authority of the Christian lifestyle and whom we would want to emulate. Also, this man was counselor to one of the victims. (This would be no different than if he were a therapist or psychologist who had inappropriate relations with his or her client) Not only is it against the law, but is unethical. Let us not for get the fraternization policy the Navy has in place. OPNAV Instruction 5370.2B states, ???Personal relationships between officer and enlisted members that are unduly familiar and that do not respect differences in rank and grade are prohibited, and violate long-standing custom and tradition of the naval service. Similar relationships that are unduly familiar between officers or between enlisted members of different rank or grade may also be prejudicial to good order and discipline or of a nature to bring discredit on the naval service and are prohibited.??? This man targeted vulnerable people, used his rank and positional authority, applied booze and took what he wanted. The cherry on top of all this disgusting mess is possible charges that should be brought against the accused for the crime of attempted murder for engaging in sexual behavior and knowingly being HIV positive.
Comment: A young recruit engaged with a person of rank? If that isn't sexual abuse I don't know what is!!! It is unacceptable for NCO's officers or even squad leaders to touch a sub rank, much less a recruit. He should be shot
Comment: Someone said he saw Lee's profile at an anonymous HIV/AIDS personal and support site. I am not sure about the domain, maybe pozgroup.com or something like this. I did not find that profile at that moment. If any of you are interested, you may try to find it. If it is true, please let us know.
Comment: Someone said he saw Lee's profile at an anonymous HIV/AIDS personal and support site. I am not sure about the domain, maybe pozgroup.com or something like this. I did not find that profile at that moment. If any of you are interested, you may try to find it. If it is true, please let us know.
Comment: It's horrible that this happened. This news came as a shock. They never realize when they do these shameful things that not only have they brought disgrace to themselves and traumatized their victims, then their fellow chaplains regardless of denomination are having to deal with the backlash. I am the spouse of a chaplain and got an annonymous phone call
saying that my spouse had given them HIV and that they were coming over NOW to kill him. Scared me until I got reminded of the news of this chaplain, and realized that the hostile call was a result of someone angry at all chaplains because of this incident., and no one was going to pay a visit to the house. RC clergy do not have the corner on the market for misconduct, but they do seem to get all the publicity because ridiculing Catholic clergy seems
to be the most popular thing these days. It's a shame that society is now stereotyping priests. What religious group will it be in fashion to ridicule next? And if we don't stand by our Catholic brothers that are being persecuted despite NOT doing misconduct, who will stand with us when they come and persecute us? I don't condone misconduct. But I also don't condone blaming all chaplains for the sins of a few.
Comment:
If you where actually aware how pervasive it was you might feel differently.
Statististical work can quickly shows that hundreds of thousand of children have been molested in the past century. Even if significantly less than half of the accusations that are deemed reasonable by our governemnts are accurate, simple math will show preachers are molesting at a terrifying rate.
Perhaps you can take solace in the fact that seem to indicate it is not only Roman Catholics who molest children and the vulnerable.
It seems to exist in ALL religions.
Comment: It is a shame that all the good priests in the world have to live with the shadow of these men who could not live a celibate life. But any more the victioms have come to look upon the molestation as a winning lottery ticket. When will society learn that money does not solve problems and quit paying "winnings" to those who have been abused and I am afraid those who falsely claim to have been molested.
Comment: I've been abused and molested in my life, I dealt with it. Not publically, at first, then eventually diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome. By that time I had already written a letter to the monster who molested me. In recent past I've heard so many sexual abuse cases coming from the Catholic clergy. I feel so bad for devout Catholics who have to live this down. To make it worse, those in charge of the Catholic clergy hide it.
Comment: I always needed my unit chaplain. In a full career, they were always there for me. I was never ever abused or harmed. These chaplains were Protestant, Catholic, Mormon, Jewish, and Evangelicals. A unit Chaplain was always a good ear and source of wisdom. As with anything, the exception distorts the rule. This bad actor in no way undoes the help I needed in times of trial.
Comment: Perverted rapist preachers who victimize the vulnerable for their own gratification? Oh My!
Get a grip people, these parasites are as common as sin and have plagued the church since it was founded!
Any man who takes a vow of celibacy is a liar, and anyone who claims the sins of the flesh are beneath them is either mad or a closet rapist.
Apparently they are sometimes both!
Happy Holidays, but remember, NEVER EVER bend over in church!
Comment: It is a shame that only a few bad apples in the chaplain corps can cause harm to the majority of chaplains of different faiths that serve in the military. As a Marine of 20 years I had contact with chaplains of different faiths. They were there to help my fellow Marines and myself whenever there a challenge in our life, especialy when we were overeseas and there was a death in the family back in the states. Chaplains should keept the faith and keep on serving God and our country. The chaplains that abuse the trust to those who they come in contact with guidance should be punished; but a sentence of less two years (including credit for good time) is not sufficient for the crimes and violations that occur.
Chuck Binkerd (cbinkerd@yahoo.com)
Comment: What a DISGRACE!!! Two years from a 12 year sentence!!! This kind of behaviour not only by a catholic priest, but also by the law only proves that the system is so corrupted, people can do whatever they want... plea bargain and basically get away with whatever it is they have done. For most crimes there should not be any consideration of lessening the sentence, period. SHAME ON ALL INVOLVED.
Comment: It is apalling that there is no oversight in the religious organizations for sexual misconduct, or any kind of conduct. A church organization has a moral duty to disclose the predator's past. Why do they think it is okay to release this person so he can do others harm? Are people that lazy? That disorganized? Why aren't people outraged as this behavior goes on from religious figures?
Comment: Resources for those abused
Malesurvivor.org (website)
Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse In America's Military (book)
Comment: Resources for those who have been abused
Malesurvivor.org
Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse In America's Military
Comment: JFmanoo's only comment on this horrific story of abuse is that midshipmen are hurt by being called cadets in the article. A youngster is raped by a military chaplain, another perpetrator priest is HIV positive and abuses students, and that is the only take-away? God help us.
Comment: Well, the victims deserve whatever honors we can provide.
Comment: Students of the Naval Academy and of Naval ROTC programs are midshipmen, not cadets. This is a point of pride for us and I'm sure servicemembers across the country be hurt, being called something they're not.
Comment: To the other victims of sexual predators who have yet to come forward: Pedophiles and other sexual predators can only work in the dark. By coming forward we bring the issue to light and destroy fear, false power, and intimidation. Please tell people your situation, if not for yourself for the next person. Even if it happened a long time ago and the perpetrator is gone or there is no proof, it is not too late for YOU and this is about YOU. When you come forward you will join our growing ranks and make even easier for the next person. It is scary at first but there are a lot of people you can still trust waiting to help. A short time from now you will not be in the dark anymore. Trust again just one more time and see how different it can be. Thank You in Advance, Michael
Comment: RE a snip from your story: Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C ... says no church would knowingly refer sexual abusers to the military. ???Under the policies of virtually every diocese, they would have to attest that someone is in good standing and can serve as a priest," Gibbs tells NEWSWEEK.
Well, Gibbs uses only the present tense in her statement. She avoids saying no church ???did??? knowingly refer sexual abusers. Having a policy and adhering to it were/are two different things. And as you reported, bishops did indeed attest that priests with prior allegations of abuse were in good standing. Thomas Doyle, himself an Air Force Catholic chaplain, and noted advocate for abuse survivors, said he knew of several such cases.
An unjust postscript to Doyle???s advocacy is that former military archbishop Edmund O???Brien, now archbishop of Baltimore, withdrew Doyle???s accreditation as a Catholic priest on a pretext ??? just shy of Doyle???s military retirement and full pension. It was clearly payback for Doyle???s work with victims, in the eyes of all who cherished his courage in testifying for them in court.
At a time of shortage for Catholic chaplains, Doyle, who had served previously in Iraq, was working night and day in 2003 on the flight line receiving wounded troops in Germany for medical treatment. O???Brien had insisted in a policy letter that daily mass be provided, but resources were spread then. The military commander was looking to restructure assignments to make certain military duties could be balanced with liturgical duties.
Doyle, with a doctorate in canon law, responded to the head chaplain???s request if church law required daily mass, which in fact, it does not. A woman found Doyle???s memo in a meeting room, sent it to O???Brien, convinced and incensed she would be deprived of daily mass. Doyle was leaving Germany that day for deployment back to the US. He planned to send his memo and scheduling recommendations to O???Brien for review, when he was not overwhelmed with packing and flying.
No matter. Upon receipt of the woman???s fax, O???Brien suspended Doyle???s endorsement within 24 hours, without due process of any kind. Doyle did not find out about it for two weeks when he was on vacation in the US. No explanations allowed; he was out, period. So, let???s understand O???Brien???s first consideration was his exercise of absolute power, despite the consequences. Doyle had 16 decorations for meritorious service over 18 years, and was beloved by the troops and his colleagues. To no avail, as far as O???Brien was concerned.
And the shortage of priests continues in the military archdiocese. No wonder.
Comment: why
why do we think of relgeous people as angles while we all know that they were in elementry school propebly
weren,t the best in that school thier mother used to change pampers for them not pronouncing words correctly and most of all were,nt defferent then other cheldren
being that ,it is our mistake to think about them or make them think that they are defferent from others
i think the maximum honorship can be attained is being a judge or a loyer
we earn knoledge from school from parents from comunity , maybe some of us is more brillint
but absolloutly stell humen
Comment: As a society we do not want to accept that sexual abuse of vulnerable persons is a wide spread problem. Until those in power get through their own denial, victims will be too shamed to report and when they do ineffective measures will continue to be taken. Furthermore, we will not be focused where we need to be and that is on the root causes, which include teaching our children respect for themselves and others.
F
Comment: they disgraced God,should be executed.
Comment: Even the military doesn't have the guts to bring proper punishment to these predators. This chaplain will be out of jail in 19 months spreading HIV to other confused men seeking spiritual guidance. Way to go, Navy.
Comment: Even the military doesn't have the guts to bring proper punishment to these predators. This chaplain will be out of jail in 19 months spreading HIV to other confused men seeking spiritual guidance. Way to go, Navy.
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