Washington Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer - Washington Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Settlements WA


If you were sexually abused as a child by a priest, deacon or any other member of the Catholic Church, you are not aloneWe are here to help you.  Please fill out our confidential online contact form or call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 and a Washington Sexual Abuse Lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your possible case.   Help is available nationwide.  There is no cost to investigate and there are no legal fees unless you receive financial compensation.  Making the call is sometimes the hardest step, but it is often a necessary step on the road to healing.  Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer Washington


Reasons to call


  • Hold the church and priests accountable
  • Prevent this from happening to someone else
  • Help with the road to recovery – settlement money can provide financial security for you.  It can also help pay for therapy, rehabilitation, and medical treatment














Please call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or fill out our confidential contact form and a lawyer will get back to you within 24 hours to discuss your case.  Washington Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer
































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Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer Washington


CATHOLIC CHURCH REHABILITATION EFFORTS FOR SEX ABUSE


Prior to the 1960s, sexual abuse committed by priests was viewed as a spiritual problem that could be conquered by prayer rather than reporting the allegations to law enforcement.  Bishops would transfer priests who committed sexual abuse to different dioceses without removing their access to children. 


Washington Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer


Due to changing attitudes among medical professionals, the Catholic Church began to use psychiatric treatment centers to evaluate and diagnose priests accused of sexual abuse in the hopes that successfully treated priests could return to their parishes.  The belief was that pedophilia could be treated in a similar manner to alcoholism.  Some of these psychiatric treatment centers were run by the church itself.  At these treatment centers, the priests would be assessed by psychiatric professionals who would then diagnose whether the priest was a pedophile based primarily on the information given by the priest and not external knowledge of actual abuse.


Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer Washington


The St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, is one of the treatment centers that have claimed success in rehabilitation of sexually abusive priests.  The St. Luke Institute was established over 40 years ago with the goal of treating alcohol and drug abuse, but they expanded to treat a wider range of issues in the 1980s.  When a client arrives at St. Luke, they are given medical, psychological, and spiritual evaluations.  Once the evaluations are complete, therapists from St. Luke meet with the client and the diocese to offer their treatment recommendation.  If treatment is required, the client will often be admitted to a six month inpatient treatment stay. 


Once treatment is complete, the professionals at St. Luke would then make their recommendation as to whether or not the priest should return to the ministry.  However, no matter what recommendation the therapists from St. Luke make, the decision on whether or not to act lies with the diocese.  Dioceses could choose to act on the recommendation and submit the priest for treatment or ignore the recommendation and either allow the priest to remain in his post or move him to another parish.


Washington Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer


After receiving sexual abuse counseling, the offending priests could be returned to the ministry, though some priests would receive restrictions in the contact they would have with children.  There is very little research on these priests to determine the recidivism rate for sexual abuse, and there has been little data to support the claims of success on the part of the treatment centers. 

Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Lawyer Washington


















































Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 for a Free, Confidential Consultation.  No Legal Fees Unless You Receive Settlement. 

Priest Sexual Abuse Victims Lawyer - Free Confidential Consultation - 1-866-777-2557

Priest Sex Abuse Lawyer 

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