"We want them to take responsibility for it," he said.
Theories about cause and treatment of sexual offenders vary, but Brown
insists the "common denominator is that this person didn't grow up in June
Cleaver's household."
Frequently, sexual abuse or other trauma early in life caused them to
disconnect and stop developing emotionally, he said. They lead a double life _
externally normal, but sexually deviant _ substituting sexual arousal for
intimacy they never had. Helping offenders reconstruct their life and learn to
make emotional attachments helps prevent relapse, Brown said.
The Servants of the Paraclete's active members have dwindled to 15 since
their founding in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, in 1947. The Rev. Liam Hoare,
community director at Vianney, likened their work to those who rolled away the
stone allowing Christ to raise Lazarus from the dead.
"We unbind the wounded priests and call them back into life again," he said.
That does not mean getting off easily, or not realizing the seriousness of
their offense, Lechner said. In rare cases, the Servants have arranged for
offenders to meet their victims and hear their stories.
Lechner recalled one priest who confided his deep regret that he could never
repair the damage to his victims.
"I said he could pray for them," said Lechner, who had see the priest in
Vianney's chapel praying from night until dawn. "A week after he told me that,
he died."
In April, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked the state of
Missouri to investigate the center's operations and provide adequate oversight
to ensure community safety.
"We find it troubling that the state regulates cosmetologists and undertakers
but not Catholic priests who supervise abusive Catholic priests," David Clohessy
of St. Louis, national director of SNAP, said at the time.
The request came after the Rev. Robert Larson was sent to live at the Vianney
Center following his release from a Kansas prison, where he served time for
molesting four children.