I have been reading and reading Brother Raymond Ducharme’s email of 23 December 2013 to “Benjmain” (pseudonym). The more I re-read andt ry to put my thoughts into words the more I am reminded that it is an exercise in futility – trying to make sense out of nonsense.
Anyway, in my “Bumps on balls” blog I did say I would make further comment. I am doing so now, albeit belatedly, and have decided to limit my comments to the follow paragraph:
“There are no excuses that stand in front of such an act as a sexual abuse. If we want to understand what happened then, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of Br. Lawrence and yours at that time. There, we are limited to what he recalls and what you recall about it. There is also a cluster of other matters involved here: sexual life, affective situation, past, personal psychology,…. “
(1) “There are no excuses that stand in front of such an act as a sexual abuse.”
True. Brother Ducharme would have been wise to leave it at that.
(2) “If we want to understand what happened then, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of Br. Lawrence and yours at that time”
Brother Ducharme tells Benjamin that in order to understand why Brother Lawrence raped him he, Benjamin, needs to put himself in Brother Lawrence’s shoes “at the time”? Asking the victim to put himself in the shoes of his molester? That will somehow help Benjamin understand why this Roman Catholic Brother sodomised him in the chapel?
This defies logic! It is beyond insanity. It’s sick.
As for telling Benjamin to put himself in his own shoes when he as an 11-year-old was sodomised by Brother Lawrence, well, really – Benjamin has lived in the shoes of that child for the past 50 years. He is in those shoes day after day after day. He doesn’t have to put himself in his own shoes. He lives in them.
This is such nonsense. Such sick sick sick nonsense.
(3) “we are limited to what he recalls and what you recall about it”
How much do “we” need to know? Brother Lawrence sodomised/raped/molested/sexually abused an 11-year-old Jewish boy, and he admitted he did so.
(4) “There is also a cluster of other matters involved here: sexual life, affective situation, past, personal psychology,….”
?????
More nonsense which sounds mighty like we’re on the verge of a cluster of excuses
As for all the business about celibacy and chastity I must point out in all fairness that Benjamin posed questions in that regard prompting the pathetic and muddled remainder of the email.
Enough for now,
Sylvia
Following in the foot steps of a wise Jewish sage from a distant time, Sylvia has again analysed the twisted sick mind of Brother Raymond the Vice Provincial for Asia. It is beyond belief that this oxymoron with highly perverted views of morality and social justice has been given charge of the morals and ethics of Brothers in an entire continent. A few days ago we heard how he referred to child molesting as a “religious activity”, now this, and I am sure it will not end there.
One can but assume that under his instruction the Mennias in Asia are a part of a training ground for future child molesters, enablers and perverts and any notion of morals in dealing with children will be re-channeled to perverted causes.
How pray tell does the Provincial in Quebec to whom he reports sanction this evil twisted mind in a position of power ? How ? How does the Superior General in Rome allow this twisted mind to not only shape the minds of the Brothers in Asia, but the minds of the 1,000 boys at the school in Shizuoka Japan that he is currently headmaster of ? How? There can be but one reason those in power are as warped in morals as he is.
Please reread Sylvia’s latest analysis. It is rich and powerful and so full of the imagery associated with the 11 year old being savagely attacked. What did Lawrence Lambert think he was doing when raping him ? No doubt that twisted mind thought he was breeding, or something else equally as perverted.
Again where is the pastoral statement from the Archbishop of Tokyo ? Described elsewhere no doubt aptly as the Arch – Enabler.
These Brothers need to pack their bags and leave Japan for one hundred years or more, and to do what they did in Montreal, where they handed over that school to others to operate. Despite previous child sexual abuse issues, the Mennais still have no idea or no protocols in place to appropriately deal with it, but could we honestly expect them to with such evil twisted people in positions of power (from Tokyo to Rome and Quebec in the middle). Who needs ISIS when there is the Mennais ?
““There are no excuses that stand in front of such an act as a sexual abuse. If we want to understand what happened then, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of Br. Lawrence and yours at that time.”
Put ourselves in the shoes of Br Lawrence??????????????????????????
Oh really? C’mon…..
He sodomized an 11 yr old boy. He felt lust and acted on it with a small boy! He cruelly satisfied his arousal on a small boy. He raped this boy. He destroyed this boy’s innocence.
Need I go on?
To Brother Raymond Ducharme: You deserve to be let go. You are not fit to be Provincial. You are a wackado! You are definitely screwed up.
Sheila,….This man’s thinking just annoys me 100%. Shame on him!
This reminds me of the words of Fr. Larry Mackey, O.M.I. when I visited his renowned Bountyful House counselling centre for some support shortly after the charges were officially laid against his brother oblate, Jack McCann. This renowned counsellor made a point of saying that there are “two sides to every story”, and that we needed to look at things from Jack McCann’s perspective. I would have thought that in thirty years there would have been some training as to how to respond to reports by survivors. If such sensitivity training is not being provided to those in positions of authority, then it makes you question what, if any training in the area of child protection is being done.
Well said Mike.
But with Brother Raymond as he is with his twisted pervertes morals, what does this say about those above him ??? The Provincial in Quebec and the Superior in Rome ….. Both are clearly unfit for office for allowing this predator to control the Orders Asian arm