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This criminal was ordained in 2017, and he was 37 at the time. PopeWatch often hears from members of the clergy that a much better job than in the past is currently being done when it comes to weeding out candidates for ordination who are likely to engage in predatory acts. One would hope so, but PopeWatch finds it hard to believe that there were not red flags aplenty prior to this felon’s ordination, considering his age and the fact that a scant three years later he is a convicted sex offender. Allegedly he was doing all this from the date of his ordination forward. He obviously sought out the priesthood in order to further his depredations. That such an obvious predator escaped detection calls into question the whole process which led up to his ordination.
PopeWatch: And it goes on
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I saw this earlier and thought exactly the same thing. This, once again, is an indictment of the seminary system that produced this monster. Does anyone trust the vast majority of bishops when it comes to policing anything? Rotten through and through. Most of these men without chests should be in sack cloth and ashes. That they would never consider such humility is surely reflective of the fact that few of them have supernatural faith.
A contemporary case means a contemporary paper trail, and likely plenty of people still in the same oversight positions. If I were their bishop, I’d clear my schedule for the next month and start asking questions under the greatest burden of obedience a bishop can muster. Those who really impressed me may be able to help write a more rigid code before they get transferred to a low-contact administrative position.
I’m not sure why this is under the ‘popewatch’ heading. The Pope cannot do much about this sort of thing other than make some adjustments in canon law and appoint better bishops. This man would have entered major seminary in 2011. Interestingly, the Bishop of Cleveland at the time, Richard Lennon, was employed in Cdl. Law’s chancery for 18 years.
Entering major seminary at 31 and ordination at 37 is not unusual. Those are actually the median ages for these events. If he’s suspicious for that, most of them are.
Since tests-and-measurements psychology is not my business, couldn’t tell you how valid and reliable their questionnaires and interviews are for detecting problem people. I do know they have equipment which can assess physiological response to visual images. If the equipment’s any good, it would have red-flagged this guy right off.
the seminary system that produced this monster.
His kinks almost certainly antedated his time in seminary. The question is why did the screening and formation process not detect them.
The rector at the time he entered the seminary was this man:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/news-herald/name/thomas-tifft-obituary?pid=158469834
The rector at the time he completed his studies and was ordained was this man:
http://www.borromeoseminary.org/rev-mark-latcovich-ph-d/
During John Geoghan’s time in major seminary, he was supposedly under a disciplinary interdict and nearly expelled from seminary. I don’t know if the reason has ever been made public, but there is surviving correspondence indicating that a monsignor in his family (an uncle or great-uncle, I believe) wrote a letter to attempt to persuade officials at the seminary to retain him, maintaining his offense was a technical rule violation.
It is under PopeWatch Art because this is precisely the area where a Pope could make a difference if he wished to. Priests in the recent past were ordained much younger than they are now. In 1982 the average age for a Catholic priest in 1982 was thirty-five. In regard to this criminal his age was significant because normally predators leave a trail, and the older the predator the longer the trail. I have little faith in psychological testing based on my experience with experts in this area in litigation. Unless someone is psychotic and easily detected, or has some sort of physical damage to the brain, I think most pyschological diagnoses can best be called guestimates.
If the accusations are true, this guy has a personality disorder and/or moral disorder, and isn’t clever enough to avoid getting caught. It might be possible for a psychologically-damaged person to slip through if he’s constantly vigilant. No reason to believe this guy is capable of that. If he has a moral problem, it should have been caught over the years of seminary and prep. Shouldn’t the spiritual directors have picked up on an underlying problem that big?
In 1982 the average age for a Catholic priest in 1982 was thirty-five.
The person who gave you that datum was pulling your leg. In 1982, about 40% of the population was under 25. Of the segment over 25, the median age that year was 45. The implosion in the number of ordinations began around 1965, so the point of origin was with the 1939 cohort or thereabouts.
I have little faith in psychological testing based on my experience with experts in this area in litigation. Unless someone is psychotic and easily detected, or has some sort of physical damage to the brain, I think most pyschological diagnoses can best be called guestimates.
Psychological testing is very seldom performed by psychiatrists or clinical psychologists for counseling or therapy. They ‘diagnose’ their clients through interviews. I think it’s mostly descriptive. IQ tests are psychological tests, to take one example. MMPI inventories do have a scale within them which is supposed to identify psychopaths. Don’t know how reliable it is.
I suspect physiological monitors aren’t bad for detecting latent homosexuality. It is, however, very invasive.
Correction: 1970 not 1982:
https://www.georgetown.edu/news/average-priest-age-now-nearly-20-years-older-than-1970/
Correction: 1970 not 1982:
In 1970, about 45% of the population was under 25. The median age of those over 25 was almost precisely the same as it was in 1982. About 23% of the population over 25 was under 35. The CARA data contends there were 805 ordinations in 1970. I believe that in 1965, there were 1,500 ordinations (the data can be found in Kenneth C. Jones’ book “Index of Leading Catholic Indicators”. There was a stock of 60,000 priests in this country in 1970. If half were under 35, you’d have had roughly 30,000 ordinations over the previous decade, or 3,000 ordinations per year. Quite sure that’s incorrect.