So now we have some paranoid religious extremists who try to "debunk" the Grand Jury report and undermine the abuse allegations and defend the church... Donohue sounds like the people who abused minors or those who knew about the abuse and tried to dismiss it or cover it up. Maybe next he'll start complaining about "christian persecution" and the "war on christmas".
"PA Grand Jury report based on accusations"
https://www.catholicleague.org/pa-grand-jury-report-based-on-accusations/The attempt to "debunk" the report:
https://www.catholicleague.org/pennsylvania-grand-jury-report-debunked/Myth: The priests “raped” their victims.
Fact: This is an obscene lie. Most of the alleged victims were not raped: they were groped or otherwise abused, but not penetrated, which is what the word “rape” means.
Myth: The abusive priests were pedophiles.
Anyone who actually reads the report knows it is a lie. Most were postpubescent. This doesn’t make the molestation okay — the guilty should be imprisoned — but it is wrong to give the impression that we are talking about 5-year-olds when more typically they were 15-year-olds.
Meanwhile, here are just very few disturbing examples from the Grand Jury report.
Reverend Anthony J. Cipolla Cipolla was first accused of sexually abusing children, specifically, two brothers who were ages 9 (first victim) and 12 (second victim) in 1978 while Cipolla was assigned to St.Francis Xavier. The abuses occurred in Cipolla' s bedroom in the rectory and also in a hotel room in Dearborn, Michigan. On July 25, 1978, the victims' mother called the Pittsburgh Police Department and criminal charges were filed. Ultimately, the criminal charges were not pursued to a conclusion because, according to the mother, she was harassed and threatened by church officials to drop the charges and to "let the church handle it."
Reverend Thomas J. Bender In 1984, a known victim reported that Bender abused him in 1981, while the victim was in seventh grade. The victim reported that he was abused in Bender's bed, where oral and anal sex occurred. When confronted at the Chancery, Bender admitted to abusing the victim. He was sent to psychotherapy but again continued to serve as priest. In 1986, the victim was hospitalized for a drug overdose and subsequently admitted to the Northwest Institute of Psychiatry. The Diocese paid the first week's fee of $4,000. The victim and his family decided to report Bender to legal authorities and also filed a civil suit.
In 1987, Bender was put on a leave of absence. He was eventually arrested, convicted and, in 1988, sentenced to probation. Bender remained on his leave of absence until 2002, when he applied for retirement benefits. The Church granted Bender his retirement and provided him a monthly living allowance and paid for health insurance, life insurance, retreat and workshop fees, and car insurance. In 2004, the Diocese received additional reports of sexual abuse by Bender. In 2006, while collecting retirement benefits from the church, Bender was arrested in Long Island, New York, while traveling to meet what he believed was a fourteen year old boy for sex. The "boy" was an undercover detective whom Bender had attempted to lure to a hotel room in Levittown, New York.
Monsignor Thomas J. Benestad The victim was nine years old when the abuse began. Correspondence demonstrated that the Diocese reported the allegation to the Northampton County District Attorney's Office, which conducted an investigation and found the victim's allegations to be credible. The victim was taken out of class by a nun and delivered to Benestad in his office. The victim had worn shorts to CCD, which was against the rules. The victim was told that shorts were not proper attire and that not wearing proper attire was sinful. The victim was told to get on his knees and start praying. Benestad unzipped his pants and told the victim to perform oral sex on him. The victim did as he was told. Benestad also performed oral sex on the victim. The victim recalls that, after the abuse, Benestad would produce a clear bottle of holy water and squirt it into the victim's mouth to purify him. The District Attorney's Office found the applicable statute of limitations had expired and no charges were brought against Benestad. Additional complaints have been made against Benestad, who has denied all accusations. The Diocese elected to rely on Benestad's word rather than the word of the victims and the determinations of law enforcement. No attempt was made to remove Benestad from ministry. Benestad was granted retirement, resides in Boca Raton, Florida, and assists with a local parish.
Father Gregory FlohrFlohr's final act of sexual abuse against the victim occurred in November 1969, when Flohr allegedly took the victim into the confessional of the Immaculate Conception church and began kissing him and tied him up with rope into a "praying position." The victim began to scream, so Flohr tried to silence him by forcing his penis into his mouth. "When the [victim] refused the priest allegedly became angry and sodomized the [victim] with a crucifix approximately 7"x 5"x 1" in size." Flohr then stated that the victim was a "bad boy" and let him go. Following this incident, the victim deliberately set the church carpet on fire.
There are more particularly disturbing cases, but the paranoid religious extremists will probably dismiss them as well.