One topic never seems to get old in the media. It is any development in the sexual abuse scandals inside the Catholic Church. Any case will get full coverage from a zealous press who will do everything possible to follow a narrative of an oppressive institution and defenseless victims.
One story inside this dramatic spectacle remains untold: the vast number of false claims. The media ignore these cases. They involve fraud, lies and fabrications that constitute scandals on a grand scale. They accuse priests/victims whose lives are irreparably ruined.
David Pierre is a man with a mission to tell this story of injustice. Ever since the sex scandals broke out in 2002, he has dedicated time and effort to get the truth out. He has carefully researched his topic and written books and web articles that tell the other untold story of falsely accused clerics.
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His latest effort is titled The Greatest Fraud Never Told: False Accusation, Phony Grand Jury Reports, and the Assault on the Catholic Church. The 2020 book updates his past efforts with scandalous cases of the miscarriage of justice. He finds that the methods and facts are constantly recycled to a welcoming media. It is a sobering experience to read.
The automatic media assumption regarding priests is guilt, not innocence. The false reports help perpetuate the myth that all priests are dangerous to children. The priests are further afflicted by the knowledge that one false claim could result in a call at any time ending their ministry.
The story is important in light of the drastic reduction of substantiated abuse cases of current priests to single-digit numbers for the nation. One of the latest available reports, for example, found only two cases in 2016 to be “substantiated” nationwide while twelve were pending. The number of false cases has risen, aided by lawsuit windows that allow victims to sue beyond the statutes of limitations and which sometimes involve cases that are decades old, in which the defendants are long dead.
Mr. Pierre makes three crucial points in his book. The first is that this is a concerted attack upon the Catholic Church. A cascade of evidence proves bad faith on the part of the media that desire to harm the Catholic Church. The false testimony of so many “abused” individuals is so blatantly obvious that no other reason can explain the media’s behavior. Even when proven wrong by the evidence, reporters often refused to rectify their stories and thus help restore falsely accused priests’ good reputation.
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The government officials join this attack on the Church. Mr. Pierre’s stinging analysis of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report in 2016 shows a refusal on the part of Attorney General Josh Shapiro to consider evidence and exonerations of priests. The sensational indictment of abusing priest and silent bishops fails to mention countless facts that contradict the narrative designed to harm the Church and Her reputation.
Predatory lawyers have joined in the bloodfest by seeking to turn the Church into an ATM to dispense money to anyone who lodges a complaint on the flimsiest of cases. They make the defense process so expensive that many dioceses have opted to settle out of court rather than to contest decades-old instances in which there are no witnesses or even living defendants.
While the media seeks to destroy the Church’s reputation, the lawyers use legal litigation to bankrupt dioceses.
Another important point analyzed in the book is the guilt of the psychology establishment that “treated” abusive priests in the thirty years after the Second Vatican Council. The bishops “followed the science” of the time that held that there could be effective treatment for those who sexually abuse minors. Even media giants like the New York Times or the Boston Globe reported as late as 1992 that such treatments of abusive clerics were successful.
When this proved tragically wrong, no one blamed the psychology professionals or the media, but the bishops who followed the bad advice. Psychologists got off scot-free while the media conveniently ignored their past support of such treatment.
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Finally, the book opens readers’ eyes to the draconian guidelines put in place by the Dallas Charter of 2002, which placed all priests under a system where any suspicion could lead to suspension. Mr. Pierre writes that “under the new policy, due process for accused priests was severely mitigated. Alleged unseemingly remarks or foolhardy gestures were now treated on par with violent sexual attacks. The long-cherished standard of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ was also thrown by the wayside.”
The guidelines open priests up to injustice based on unproven allegations. Priests are further disheartened by the Damocles’ sword over their heads. The warm father-son relationship between bishop and priests is jeopardized by the Dallas Charter’s severe actions of distrust and suspicion.
Everyone rightly deplores the abuse of minors by errant clergy. However, few consider the spotless reputations ruined by lying individuals who make false accusations.
One thing is clear. The target is the Church. While the Church is in the midst of a great crisis, She still needs to be defended from Her enemies. False claims, hostile officials and media seek to destroy the Church. Dave Pierre’s book sets the record straight and gives elements to the faithful to fight back.
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