I do not know Fr. Benedict Groeschel other than listening to him speak on EWTN. I missed him when he was forced to step down as host of EWTN's Sunday Night Prime [3]. In my opinion, he was one who spoke his mind without deceit and guile, unlike Judas and politicians of all stripes.
Whether Fr. Benedict Groeschel was right or wrong when he stated that in many molestation cases involving the clergy, the minor was the one who seduced the priest [4] is not for people to judge because his statement cannot be disproved, or proved, without a scintilla of doubt. He later apologized stating that the priest was always to blame. I agree, since the priest is an older adult and in a position of power who must adhere to his vow of chastity and must refuse and reject such advances by a minor when they occur.
[1] http://franciscanfriars.com/father-benedict/
[2] "St. Francis died about sunset on Saturday, October 3, 1226." See The Roman Catholic Daily Missal, 1962, with Kyriale In Gregorian Notation, compiled from The Missale Romanum, October 4, St. Francis of Assisi, Confessor, p. 1437 (Kansas City, Missouri: Angelus Press, June, 2014).
[3] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/04/1127740/-Fr-Benedict-Groeschel-will-no-longer-host-on-EWTN# Below is the reason:
In a National Catholic Register interview published Aug. 27, Fr. Groeschel suggested that a minor is “the seducer” in “a lot” of sexual abuse cases. He said he was inclined to think that abusers on their first offense should not go to jail “because their intention was not committing a crime.”[4] Ibid.
Fr. Groeschel apologized for the remarks last week, saying he did not intend to “blame the victim.” He affirmed that a priest or anyone else who abuses a minor is “always always wrong” and “always responsible.”
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