Priest at his child abuse trial in Rome: 'I am not a monster'

[Kadarin]

From the story here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/27/italy.priest.abuse/index.html?hpt=T2

From TFA:

A priest accused of child abuse denied the charges Tuesday in a high-profile trial taking place in the shadow of the Vatican.

"I am not a monster. I am innocent," the Rev. Ruggero Conti said in court.

Interesting choice of words "I am not a monster"... I'm guessing that in his own eyes he's most certainly not a "monster", but rather a man who really loves children and wants to give and receive pleasure with them.

Also from TFA:

Two alleged victims told police that Conti masturbated them and forced them to perform oral sex on him in his home, where he often invited them to dinner and to watch movies, according to court documents.

You really have to wonder at the reasons behind what appears to be widespread coverup within the Vatican over the issue of child molestation as a whole. Is it a matter of an old boy network protecting their own?

 

[Lemon law]

The only bright side here is that the church is no longer the deciders, the Priest is being tried in a criminal court and will be an official criminal and serving a jail term if convicted.

And sooner or later, other church officials who sheltered such pedophile priests may end up in the slammer for aiding and abetting criminals.

 

[Danube]

The American Psychiatric Association dropped pedophilia as a disorder in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III - saying that if a pedo felt no conflict there was no disorder (public outrage made APA reverse call). Seems this guy is right in line with a lot of academics.

 

[ShawnD1]

You really have to wonder at the reasons behind what appears to be widespread coverup within the Vatican over the issue of child molestation as a whole. Is it a matter of an old boy network protecting their own?

They want to keep this going because young boys eat less and drink less than a full size adult, so they're cheaper to date

 

[daishi5]

The only bright side here is that the church is no longer the deciders, the Priest is being tried in a criminal court and will be an official criminal and serving a jail term if convicted.

And sooner or later, other church officials who sheltered such pedophile priests may end up in the slammer for aiding and abetting criminals.

The dark side is that the man is being tried based only accusations in the city that is the center of a continental scandal. I don't think this priest has any chance of a fair trial, whether or not he is guilty. The article lists several people who accuse him, and a few people that "warned" about him, but no evidence. How can it be a bright side that a criminal case is being brought against a man, whom everyone thinks is an evil monster, when his only chance to prove his innocence comes down to his word against theirs.

Let us never forget how easy it is for overzealous adults to convince children they have been harmed when no harm occurred. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse

But, even darker still is the fact that it could also be true.

 

[CycloWizard]

The dark side is that the man is being tried based only accusations in the city that is the center of a continental scandal. I don't think this priest has any chance of a fair trial, whether or not he is guilty. The article lists several people who accuse him, and a few people that "warned" about him, but no evidence. How can it be a bright side that a criminal case is being brought against a man, whom everyone thinks is an evil monster, when his only chance to prove his innocence comes down to his word against theirs.

Let us never forget how easy it is for overzealous adults to convince children they have been harmed when no harm occurred. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse

But, even darker still is the fact that it could also be true.

This. It's disturbing how prevalent the guilty until proven guilty mindset has overcome everyone over the past several years. As soon as someone is accused of something, it's spammed 24/7 on every news network until the person's name is ruined, regardless of whether they were actually guilty of the crime. I am 100% behind investigations into abuse by priests, school teachers, and anyone else who breaks the law and punishment for those convicted. However, it seems that we have tossed the conviction bit completely and are perfectly willing to lynch anyone accused of what we deem a horrible crime.

 

[JSt0rm]

If he didn't want to be accused of touching little boys he shouldn't of become a priest.

 

[JEDIYoda]

If he didn't want to be accused of touching little boys he shouldn't of become a priest.

Thats a completely moronic shoot from the hip response!!

 

[JSt0rm]

Thats a completely moronic shoot from the hip response!!

Thank you. I try.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

The American Psychiatric Association dropped pedophilia as a disorder in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III - saying that if a pedo felt no conflict there was no disorder (public outrage made APA reverse call). Seems this guy is right in line with a lot of academics.

This is a classic misunderstanding in regards to what a psychological disorder is.

The basic criteria for almost every disorder is that the individual afflicted with the disorder be upset about the situation. What this truly means is that those who have no remorse for having a harmful state of mind are beyond treatment.

As such there is nothing to diagnose, they are broken people that can not be helped. Rather than being poor psychological invalids trying to regain their abilities as functional persons, they have become monsters.

 

[Lemon law]

Its a totally ridiculous thread deflection to say "The American Psychiatric Association dropped this, that, or some other category of classification for human problem, because
the criminal codes of almost all nations defines something like pedophilia, as a serious crime and not a mental disorder. Does the American Psychiatric have special classes for bank robbery disorder, murder disorder, and all other crimes? If not, what relevance does the American Psychiatric Association have on this thread?

But I suppose, if a priest wants to cop an Insanity pleas, having pedophilia as a defined mental disorder might help.

 

[Danube]

This is a classic misunderstanding in regards to what a psychological disorder is.

The basic criteria for almost every disorder is that the individual afflicted with the disorder be upset about the situation. What this truly means is that those who have no remorse for having a harmful state of mind are beyond treatment.

As such there is nothing to diagnose, they are broken people that can not be helped. Rather than being poor psychological invalids trying to regain their abilities as functional persons, they have become monsters.

But there are pedos who do have remorse and are at odds with their compulsion.

Right now Gender Identity Disorder is being dropped as a disorder as well despite lots of evidence to the contrary. It's just a PC game now. The psychological research crowd is as useless as the warming crowd is.

 

[Modelworks]

But there are pedos who do have remorse and are at odds with their compulsion.

Right now Gender Identity Disorder is being dropped as a disorder as well despite lots of evidence to the contrary. It's just a PC game now. The psychological research crowd is as useless as the warming crowd is.

As a child I was abused by a pedophile. My solution to sex offenders. Bullet to the head.
All this , I can reform, I can change BS, is just that.

 

[Danube]

Its a totally ridiculous thread deflection to say "The American Psychiatric Association dropped this, that, or some other category of classification for human problem, because
the criminal codes of almost all nations defines something like pedophilia, as a serious crime and not a mental disorder. Does the American Psychiatric have special classes for bank robbery disorder, murder disorder, and all other crimes? If not, what relevance does the American Psychiatric Association have on this thread?

But I suppose, if a priest wants to cop an Insanity pleas, having pedophilia as a defined mental disorder might help.

People can have a compulsion to do bad things and not act of them so there is no criminality involved technically. It's totally conceivable someone
would have errant sexual behaviors that they would like to resolve.

Being a kleptomaniac and a thief do not have to mutually be exclusive to one another. A person could go to jail for stealing and still get help for their issues. Of course finding good therapists for such things is very hard.

 

[Moonbeam]

If he didn't want to be accused of touching little boys he shouldn't of become a priest.

If folk don't want their kids molested they shouldn't send them to a Catholic church.

 

[William Gaatjes]

That is awful... Good luck Modelworks.

In all honesty, i do not make these pictures. I did translated them.

 

[Modelworks]

Strangely there was quite a few tv programs about it last few days, not related to priest.

There is a small town out west, I think it is like 5000 people and the state has located a pedophile there that has 30+ repeat offenses. The state says he is reformed. The town is mad as hell because it was a place where their children felt safe so they feel they were singled out because no city wanted the guy and the state decided that it was best for him to be in a place with low populations.

If you ask a pedophile that has repeated offenses, even reformed ones , "Can you promise me 100% beyond any doubt that you will never do this again ? " , every single one I have seen asked that question has said no, not 100%.To me that means they cannot be trusted.

The states argument is what are they to do , lock them up for life after they have served their 20 years which would violate their rights ? For me the answer is simple, but may seem harsh to some. Life without the chance for parole.
Prison was once about reform. What good is it to lock up anyone for 20 years if they are going to do the same thing that put them in prison to start with ?

 

[shira]

Strangely there was quite a few tv programs about it last few days, not related to priest.

There is a small town out west, I think it is like 5000 people and the state has located a pedophile there that has 30+ repeat offenses. The state says he is reformed. The town is mad as hell because it was a place where their children felt safe so they feel they were singled out because no city wanted the guy and the state decided that it was best for him to be in a place with low populations.

If you ask a pedophile that has repeated offenses, even reformed ones , "Can you promise me 100% beyond any doubt that you will never do this again ? " , every single one I have seen asked that question has said no, not 100%.To me that means they cannot be trusted.

The states argument is what are they to do , lock them up for life after they have served their 20 years which would violate their rights ? For me the answer is simple, but may seem harsh to some. Life without the chance for parole.
Prison was once about reform. What good is it to lock up anyone for 20 years if they are going to do the same thing that put them in prison to start with ?

I'm sympathetic about your personal experience, but you really ought to get your fact straight about the recidivism rate of sex offenders:

http://www.ipce.info/library_3/files/rearrest.htm

The study found

5.3 percent of sex offenders were arrested for another sex crime after their release.

. . .

the numbers appeared to dispute the popular notion that sex offenders are incorrigible. Even among child molesters, about 18 percent had been arrested for similar offenses before, and only 3.3 percent of those released in 1994 were arrested again for a crime against a child.

I understand your anger, but it is not just to lock up every child molester for life because 1 in 30 will molest a child again if released.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Strangely there was quite a few tv programs about it last few days, not related to priest.

There is a small town out west, I think it is like 5000 people and the state has located a pedophile there that has 30+ repeat offenses. The state says he is reformed. The town is mad as hell because it was a place where their children felt safe so they feel they were singled out because no city wanted the guy and the state decided that it was best for him to be in a place with low populations.

If you ask a pedophile that has repeated offenses, even reformed ones , "Can you promise me 100% beyond any doubt that you will never do this again ? " , every single one I have seen asked that question has said no, not 100%.To me that means they cannot be trusted.

The states argument is what are they to do , lock them up for life after they have served their 20 years which would violate their rights ? For me the answer is simple, but may seem harsh to some. Life without the chance for parole.
Prison was once about reform. What good is it to lock up anyone for 20 years if they are going to do the same thing that put them in prison to start with ?

i have read an article once about a pedophile who saw what he did was wrong and willingly let himself be castrated chemically. Because he produced much less male hormones, his libido was gone too. Removing the desire to have sex. But i agree with you. Lock them up for research. Until they can be cured forever and only prefer mature women or men who voluntarly choose to be with them.

 

[Modelworks]

I understand your anger, but it is not just to lock up every child molester for life because 1 in 30 will molest a child again if released.

The problem with child molestation is it goes unreported. So I hold the 1 in 30 very suspect. Nobody knows how many re-offend and are not caught again because they learned from their mistake the first time on how not to get caught. I might be sympathetic to a person with 1 count, but people with 3, 5, 10 counts ? NEVER.

 

[Modelworks]

i have read an article once about a pedophile who saw what he did was wrong and willingly let himself be castrated chemically. Because he produced much less male hormones, his libido was gone too. Removing the desire to have sex. But i agree with you. Lock them up for research. Until they can be cured forever and only prefer mature women or men who voluntarly choose to be with them.

Many times it isn't about the actual sex act , it is about the fantasy in their heads. There are quite a few cases where pedophiles that were chemically castrated moved from pedophilia to murdering the victims because they could no longer get the satisfaction they craved.

 

[shira]

The problem with child molestation is it goes unreported. So I hold the 1 in 30 very suspect. Nobody knows how many re-offend and are not caught again because they learned from their mistake the first time on how not to get caught. I might be sympathetic to a person with 1 count, but people with 3, 5, 10 counts ? NEVER.

If nobody knows, then on what basis are you advocating locking up every child molester for life?

 

[Modelworks]

If nobody knows, then on what basis are you advocating locking up every child molester for life?

If someone kills 3 people would you believe them telling you they will never do it again ?
Then why trust a child molester who rapes, 5, 10 ,20 children, how many is enough ?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

But there are pedos who do have remorse and are at odds with their compulsion.

Right now Gender Identity Disorder is being dropped as a disorder as well despite lots of evidence to the contrary. It's just a PC game now. The psychological research crowd is as useless as the warming crowd is.

Well, the phenomenological European types are;

some of us are still positivists!

 

[sportage]

"Priest at his child abuse trial in Rome: 'I am not a monster'"

But I'll show u the monster in my pants...