In an article for the Washington Post, James Martin, SJ, a Jesuit priest and culture editor for America Magazine, gives an engaging and astute comparison between the recent sex allegations at Penn State and the notorious sexual abuse situations that has plagued the Catholic Church in the last few years. Not only does Fr. Martin point out the similarities between the abusers in terms of their psychological profiles, he also rightfully reminds us not to feel sorry for the wrong victims.
While Fr. Martin points out that the sexual abuse allegations at Penn State (or at colleges in general) aren’t as widespread as those recently found within the Catholic Church, there exist some striking similarities. He quotes a psychiatrist who spoke at a conference on sexual abuse who says that sexual predators exhibit two defineable qualities- narcissism and gradiosity. These sexual abusers (priests and coaches, alike) are truly narcissistic because they cannot feel empathy toward their victims, or relate to their pain. The gradiosity aspect comes from being a charismatic individual- among young people in particular.
Fr. Martin closes his thoughts on the Penn State sexual abuse allegations by rightfully reminding us that in these situations, too often the public outcries center around the the perpetrator- not the victims. As a Catholic, I can admit that when the sexual abuse allegations and cover-ups were exposed and exploited in the media, our first instincts were to defend the Church (not necessarily the abusers), but hardly any Catholics expressed concern for the victims.
The same phenomenon can be seen with the recent sex abuse allegations at Penn State.
Since these allegations hit the media and public eye, everyone has been protesting, complaining about losing Joe Paterno, and wailing over the university. What about the victims? What message are we sending to the victims, the victims’ families, or society in general- that it’s alright to commit sexual abuse, or to disregard allegations in the name of football?
What about the children?