I think the timing of the initial flurry of reports of abuse at Keough occurred in about 1992. The "Satanic Panic" era was in full swing but the primary impact was not the bizarre allegations of Satanic Rituals and Day Care Centers involved in child sexual abuse but rather, the thousands of young adults, usually but not always women, who claimed that they had been abused by their fathers or other men they had contact with as children and they had no recollection of this abuse until those memories were either spontaneously recovered or, more likely, with the help of a Therapist specializing in Recovered Memories.
It was very common for someone to see a Psychologist about problems or general dissatisfaction they were experiencing in their lives and " Discover" that it was all caused by abuse they had suffered as a child. Fathers, relatives, neighbors, teachers clergymen etc. found themselves accused of heinous crimes committed years before with no way to defend themselves.
The public became very willing to believe these accusations and the Therapy Professionals who were uncovering these memories became heroes and saw their practices flourish. States enacted laws to override Statutes of Limitations that had limited prosecutions of these cases. Men ( it was mostly men ) went to prison, lost their families and their livelihoods or otherwise had their lives ruined.
By 1993 or '94, the tide began to turn. Men who had been accused went public with their denials and the Science of Recovered Memories was called into question. People who had made accusations of sexual abuse were now coming forward with claims that Therapists had manipulated them and planted False Memories. The term "False Memory Syndrome" entered the lexicon.
Psychologists and Psychiatrists who had been leaders in their professions were now losing their credentials and being sued to the limits of their malpractice limits. Juries began acquitting defendants who had recovered memories used as evidence and suddenly, "victims" coming forward with claims of past abuse were looked upon with skepticism if not written off completely as "nut cases".
One thing that did come out of the era was the acceptance that sexual abuse did occurs. People came to realize that bad things happened and even Priests were capable of horrible thing. What also came out is that people were capable of making false accusations; either deliberate lies or things that that they believed happened but did not.
It is in this climate that we have you consider the case of Sr Cesnik.
It was very common for someone to see a Psychologist about problems or general dissatisfaction they were experiencing in their lives and " Discover" that it was all caused by abuse they had suffered as a child. Fathers, relatives, neighbors, teachers clergymen etc. found themselves accused of heinous crimes committed years before with no way to defend themselves.
The public became very willing to believe these accusations and the Therapy Professionals who were uncovering these memories became heroes and saw their practices flourish. States enacted laws to override Statutes of Limitations that had limited prosecutions of these cases. Men ( it was mostly men ) went to prison, lost their families and their livelihoods or otherwise had their lives ruined.
By 1993 or '94, the tide began to turn. Men who had been accused went public with their denials and the Science of Recovered Memories was called into question. People who had made accusations of sexual abuse were now coming forward with claims that Therapists had manipulated them and planted False Memories. The term "False Memory Syndrome" entered the lexicon.
Psychologists and Psychiatrists who had been leaders in their professions were now losing their credentials and being sued to the limits of their malpractice limits. Juries began acquitting defendants who had recovered memories used as evidence and suddenly, "victims" coming forward with claims of past abuse were looked upon with skepticism if not written off completely as "nut cases".
One thing that did come out of the era was the acceptance that sexual abuse did occurs. People came to realize that bad things happened and even Priests were capable of horrible thing. What also came out is that people were capable of making false accusations; either deliberate lies or things that that they believed happened but did not.
It is in this climate that we have you consider the case of Sr Cesnik.
