A Second Opinion

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 11, 2003

The conclusion of the address with which Judge Arthur Brennan sentenced serial sex abuser Fr. Gordon MacRae to 67 years in prison:

I conclude that you, Mr. MacRae, remain an extremely dangerous and high risk sexual offender. The compulsiveness and repetitiveness of your sexual assault against young boys, documented from 1979 to 1988, the selection and grooming of vulnerable boys and families, the deceitful use of both the authority of a Catholic priest and the corresponding spiritual power that the religion represents, the evidence of your solicitation and prostitution of young men for yourself and others of your ilk, the evidence of child pornography and multiple victims, your complete lack of remorse, your aggressive denial of wrongdoing, your merciless attack on the character of the victims who confronted you, the ruthless application of your intelligence, education and experience as a counselor to undermine these children and their families and your total lack of compassion for your victims and the friends you continued to mislead, I considered all these things in decided your sentence for the attacks on [John Doe XVI]. And I find that the prospects for your rehabilitation are very poor. There is no credible evidence that you have responded to the treatment that you have received. Throughout these proceedings, I have listened to your witnesses and I have watched you closely. I detect nothing in you at this time that gives me a reasonable basis for releasing you to the community ever. I hope that in years to come effective treatment will be developed and that you will embrace it. Perhaps you will someday understand the depth and damage of your acts and perhaps we will someday develop the technology to allow you to be released into society and at the same time ensure the safety of the children and the families that you prey upon. But I am not persuaded that we have the knowledge or technology today and I will not put this community's children at risk for your benefit.

Read the passage above in conjunction with Fr. Rossetti's opinion below. Ask yourself whether the judge or the therapist seems to have the firmer grasp of reality. Recall that it is Rossetti, not Brennan, whom the bishops invite to instruct them. Surprised at the result?