Rooms sealed at Astoria monastery

[biro]

The patriarchal delegation looking into allegations of impropriety at a monastery in Astoria, New York has sealed off certain rooms at the facility, pursuant to the investigation.

From the article:

The patriarchal delegation investigating the allegations around the scandal at the St. Irene Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery in Astoria, N.Y. has ordered the chambers of the abbot Metropolitan Paisios of Tyana, deputy abbot Bishop Vikentios of Apameia, and former nun Christonymphi Fitzpatrick to be sealed. The three-member delegation visited the premises of the Monastery that is located on Ditmars Blvd. on November 13th and conducted an investigation.

[Irish Hermit]

Title:  Bishop Vikentios Levels Shocking Charges Against Metropolitan Paisios

Author: Theodore Kalmoukos

Date: 12/19/2010

Source: The National Herald

Links:

http://www.thenationalherald.com/

http://pokrov.org/display.asp?ds=Article&id=1534

[stashko]

Shameful.....and Sad....Satan is really working Hard to Destroy and Scatter the Lords Vineyard.....

Fr.Ambrose, Thanks For sharing ,also Biro....Hopfully it will be dealt with swiftly......Fr. Do you think the Bishop that was interviewed ,should of spoken up Sooner ...To me it seems he waited to long to complain about things.........

[SubdeaconDavid]

Title:  Bishop Vikentios Levels Shocking Charges Against Metropolitan Paisios

Author: Theodore Kalmoukos

Date: 12/19/2010

Source: The National Herald

Links:

http://www.thenationalherald.com/

http://pokrov.org/display.asp?ds=Article&id=1534

The Pokrov website lists many examples of Orthodox clergy and monastics who have gone off the rails and broken their vows to have sex with children.  In my view pedophile priests belong in prison.  It is not Satan's fault that these things happen - those men chose their behaviours.  Mandatory clergy education about pedophilia, mandatory reporting of allegations to police, handing over allegations to the civil authorities is the only ethical way for the Church to respond to this moral blight.  Clergy pedophilia has nothing to do with celibacy, nor is it a Roman Catholic disease.  It happened to me in the Anglican (Episcopal) Church and it can happen it is alleged in a Patriarchal Monastery.  The other thing that is needed is National and if required International Police checks to determine whether candidates for Church offices have clean records in relation to such appalling crimes.

May the Lord preserve and heal the victims of such crimes and bring the guilty to justice - punishment and hopefully repentance before the end.

[podkarpatska]

The other day I posted a link to an article from USA Today on the topic of sexual abuse in the schools in the Religious sub-board of Free for All. I was disappointed to see that no one saw fit to comment (although the swami thread keeps swimming along there.) Perhaps it was on the wrong board so I am taking the liberty of reposting my previous comments here in that they relate to the comments of Sub-deacon David.

(I don't know if this is the proper forum for this  post, if not please place it where you think it is appropriate.)

For some time there has been a tendency to 'pile on' the church, be it Roman Catholic or our own Orthodox Church, in the matter of the clergy, episcopacy and sex offenders. Some of us have posted in defense of the Church - not in defense of the stupid actions of some administrators and the people they protect - by pointing out that these issues are not unique to the Church or the clergy. There is an article in this morning's USA Today entitled "GAO: Registered sex offenders finding jobs in schools." It is worth reading as it supports the argument of those of us who have tried to put the role of the Church in perspective.

The GAO (Government Accountability Office, the independent investigative arm of the  United States Congress)  issued a report which found, in part:   

     "Registered sex offenders are getting jobs in schools as teachers, administrators, volunteers and contractors, despite state laws that prohibit them from contact with children, a government watchdog report says.
      And school officials in some states enable misconduct to continue by ignoring red flags during hiring or by covering up the firing of sexual offenders, according to the report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.....
      An Education Department study estimates that millions of kids in kindergarten through 12th grade are victims of sexual misconduct by a school employee at some point. The GAO report also notes most sexual abuse of children goes unreported. In one study it cites, 232 child molesters admitted to molesting a total of 17,000 victims, often without ever being caught.

      How offenders slipped through the cracks:

   • A teacher/coach who was forced to resign from an Ohio school because of inappropriate contact with girls was hired by a neighboring district, where he was eventually convicted for sexual battery against a sixth-grade girl. The superintendent at his first school had called him an "outstanding teacher" in a recommendation letter.

   • Several Louisiana schools hired a registered sex offender, whose Texas teaching certificate had been revoked, without doing a criminal history check. A warrant is out for his arrest on charges of engaging in sexual conversations with a student at one school.

   • An Arizona public school skipped the required criminal history check even though the applicant disclosed he had committed a dangerous crime against a child. He was later convicted for having sexual contact with a girl.

   • In three cases, schools failed to ask about troubling application responses. For example, a California charter school hired an administrator who had left blank a question about previous felony convictions; he had been convicted of a felony sex offense against a minor."  http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-12-15-gao-sex-offenders-schools_N.htm

Again, I am certainly NOT suggesting that the actions of any Church acting in a similar manner are in any way defensible or understandable. What I am suggesting is that this horrible problem is endemic to our modern society and it is patently unfair to single out a church or religion time and time again thereby suggesting that faith - not the overall moral health of the society - is that causal link.

The Church should be an icon, or exemplar, of how to deal with this problem but she is hardly alone with the consequences of this issue. Lord, have mercy.

[Tags:]

OrthodoxChristianity.net > General Forums > Christian News (Moderator: serb1389) > Topic: Rooms sealed at Astoria monastery