Opus Dei paid $977,000 to settle sexual misconduct claim against prominent Catholic priest

[Faygo Kid]

Source: Washington Post

The global Catholic community Opus Dei in 2005 paid $977,000 to settle a sexual misconduct suit against the Rev. C. John McCloskey, a priest well-known for preparing for conversion big-name conservatives -- Newt Gingrich, Larry Kudlow and Sam Brownback, among others.

The survivor is a D.C.-area Catholic who was among the many who received spiritual direction from McCloskey through the Catholic Information Center, a K Street hub of Catholic life in downtown Washington. She told The Washington Post that McCloskey groped her several times while she was going to pastoral counseling with him to discuss marital troubles and serious depression.

The guilt and shame over the interactions sent her into a tailspin and, combined with her existing depression, made it impossible for her to work in her high-level job, she said. She spoke to him about her “misperceived guilt over the interaction” in confession and he absolved her, she said. . .

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2019/01/08/opus-dei-paid-settle-sexual-misconduct-claim-against-prominent-catholic-priest/?utm_term=.6771f070881d

[keithbvadu2]

1. Yep! That's why parishioners tithe to the church.

[catbyte]

2. Ugh. Between the sexual predators, the sleazy money grubbing megachurch millionaires, and

the amoral, immoral evangelical trump humpers/apologists, I can just see Jesus now...

[sandensea]

3. A mere tip of the iceberg for them

Formed with Franco's support to help push the increasingly liberal Catholic Church back to medieval values, the Opus Dei was behind many of the most brutal right-wing dictatorships in Latin America from the '60s to the '80s.

They remain influential in the region, backing many of the most reactionary candidates - often with disastrous results, as in the case of Argentina's Macri.

Suffice it to say they are none too fond of this pope, despite his recent overtures to the right on some social issues.

I'd keep a close eye on my tea if I were Pope Francis.

[rpannier]

4. My dad thinks that's why Francis moved into the Papal Apt

There's only one or two entrances/exits.
You know who is coming and going.
The Papal Palace has too many places to enter and exit to know who has come and gone
With both Cardinal Burkes around, I'd watch my back, sides, front, over and under me every step I took

[sandensea]

6. +1

Great point; never thought of it that way. Can't be too careful in that place.

[KWR65]

5. No one is shocked by this any more.

I mean donations by the faithful to the Catholic Church are down by 2/3. I'm Catholic BTW.

[olddad56]

7. the catholic shurch has paid up almost 4 billion to victims of abuse

just let the predators fuck adults and be done with it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. The relationship of Priest to Parishioner is not always one between equals.

The priest wields "spiritual power" over the parishioner's psyche, so "consent" may not be possible.

Let the predators serve jail time, lose their jobs, and get on an offenders list.