DITTMER, Missoui - A Chicago priest, tall and quiet-spoken, said he came
to a treatment center here a broken man, depressed, and keeping his pedophilia
secret.
"I knew in my heart I needed help," he told The Associated Press for a rare
look inside the Vianney Renewal Center, a program for troubled Roman Catholic
priests 30 miles (50 kilometers) outside St. Louis.
In 14 months of "hardball" individual and group therapy, a 12-step addiction
program, fraternal support, and spiritual direction, the priest said he has
"become honest with myself," and been given the tools to face his problems.
The Chicago man is one of 19 priests and religious brothers from around the
United States who are being treated at the one-of-a-kind center for alleged
sexually deviant behavior, including offenses against minors. Some are
registered sex offenders.
The center, located on four 4 acres (1.6 hectares) in rural Jefferson County,
is run by the Servants of the Paraclete, the only Catholic religious order in
the U.S. that ministers to "priests and brothers in personal difficulty."
While the Vianney center is not a prison or part of the judicial system, it
does work with legal authorities and imposes strict security safeguards, said
the Rev. Peter Lechner, the religious community's leader and a licensed clinical
psychologist.
Ten percent are referred by the courts; the rest by their diocese or
religious order.
Many will never return to their previous jobs, due to the intractability of
their problems or because the required supervision cannot be provided by a
religious order or diocese. They will live out their lives at Vianney.
Those who do leave are reevaluated and monitored, and none has reoffended,
Lechner said. Everyone has a relapse prevention and safety plan. No one returns
to ministry.
"The goal here is no more victims," said licensed professional counselor
William Brown, one of four therapists at Vianney, who also contracts with the
Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Brown, who specializes in sexual addictions and compulsions, said the Vianney
center's therapeutic team plays "psychological hardball" with the men, and
insists on accountability and demonstrated progress.