From a simple web search you learn Southdown started in 1965 as a treatment center for alcoholic priests but soon became a harbor for priests with sexual problems, which to the Catholic Church is more critical if you're homosexual than if you're a pedophile, according to Southdown philosophy.
The woman who ran Southdown from 1993 to 2003 opposed the American bishops "zero tolerance" policy from 2002, claiming their numbers were down at Southdown. Her claim:
"Clerical molesters are now afraid to come forward, because once a priest knows he's going to be defrocked he no longer has interest in seeking treatment."
Former priest Christopher Schiavone wrote in the Boston Globe (12/8/02 ) about his time at Southdown where he’d been sent to cure his homosexuality so he could return to the priesthood.
“They are men and women sent to this institution for "rustication," as it is sometimes called in mental health circles. Some have been accused of various kinds of sexual misconduct; others are battling addictions; many are in the throes of clinical depression. But most share one thing in common: They have found themselves in embarrassing, compromising, or potentially sticky situations, and their superiors -- bishops and heads of religious congregations -- have hustled them off to the rustic hill country of southern Ontario in the hope that the various tempests which brought them all here will die down in the six months of their retreat.”
WHY IS URELL AT SOUTHDOWN?
A Canadian retreat for priests with sex and alcohol problems?
So what’s wrong with Msgr. Urell that puts him in a recovery center where pedophile priests “recover” and gay priests go to get straight? What does Southdown know about the dreaded deposition panic, truth trauma, revulsion to oath taking syndrome from which he apparently suffers?
Maybe it’s to compare notes with former Southdown president Sister Donna Markham who was quoted in a Catholic News Service release February 3, 2004.
Southdown’s Markham said this about pedophile priests:
“A small minority of child sex abusers are habitual offenders with little chance of improving with treatment. The vast majority -- such as those who are emotionally immature or who were abused as children and are acting out their own abuse -- can be successfully treated, Markham said.”
City of Angels hopes to run more stories about plaintiffs’ interactions with Monsignor Urell soon.
The woman who ran Southdown from 1993 to 2003 opposed the American bishops "zero tolerance" policy from 2002, claiming their numbers were down at Southdown. Her claim:
"Clerical molesters are now afraid to come forward, because once a priest knows he's going to be defrocked he no longer has interest in seeking treatment."
Former priest Christopher Schiavone wrote in the Boston Globe (12/8/02 ) about his time at Southdown where he’d been sent to cure his homosexuality so he could return to the priesthood.
WHY IS URELL AT SOUTHDOWN?
A Canadian retreat for priests with sex and alcohol problems?
So what’s wrong with Msgr. Urell that puts him in a recovery center where pedophile priests “recover” and gay priests go to get straight? What does Southdown know about the dreaded deposition panic, truth trauma, revulsion to oath taking syndrome from which he apparently suffers?
Maybe it’s to compare notes with former Southdown president Sister Donna Markham who was quoted in a Catholic News Service release February 3, 2004.
Southdown’s Markham said this about pedophile priests:
“A small minority of child sex abusers are habitual offenders with little chance of improving with treatment. The vast majority -- such as those who are emotionally immature or who were abused as children and are acting out their own abuse -- can be successfully treated, Markham said.”
City of Angels hopes to run more stories about plaintiffs’ interactions with Monsignor Urell soon.
Click http://cityofangels3.blogspot.com to read more about sex crimes in the Catholic Church.
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