What, me worry?

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 16, 2003

What, me worry?

Fr. Stephen Rossetti, president of the St. Luke Institute, gives his take on child molester recidivism (America, 9-9-95):

In the 10 years in which Saint Luke Institute has treated over 300 priests who have sexually molested minors, we currently know of only 2 who have relapsed into child sexual abuse. While it is likely that there are others whom we do not know about, our experience to date suggests that it is improbable that a priest will relapse if he has done well in residential treatment, complied with our 5-year after-care program and engaged in ongoing supervision and outpatient treatment.

Housewife Margaret Gallant, seven of whose nephews had been molested by Father John Geoghan, had a different perspective on the matter, expressed in a hand-written letter to Cardinal Humberto Medeiros of Boston in 1982:

"Regardless of what [Father Geoghan] says, or the doctor who treated him, I do not believe he is cured; his actions strongly suggest that he is not, and there is no guarantee that persons with these obsessions are ever cured."

For the record, Father Geoghan was treated at the St. Luke Institute in 1989. And 1995.