Thank you, that was exactly my point.
A normal person, when feeling a suspicion, will furtively try to see what they can figure out on their own without involving the authorities and potentially embarrassing themselves with false accusations. They want to be sure.
And a predator, who is keenly sensitive to a normal person's rather clumsy amateur surveillance, will likely counter with a very subtly-played charade to allay that person's suspicions - to prevent them from ever becoming 100% sure.
After all, they've been carefully watching and toying with other people for years.
Real leadership knows better.
And a predator, who is keenly sensitive to a normal person's rather clumsy amateur surveillance, will likely counter with a very subtly-played charade to allay that person's suspicions - to prevent them from ever becoming 100% sure.
And that's why at the slightest hint something is wrong the authorities are contacted. People holding positions of authority have to know what they are and are not capable of handling. The crime of your church isn't that predators infiltrated and abused young boys. It is the cover up, moving priests around and not calling the police.
I can give you an example from my church. We have about 1,800 members and usually 4,000 attend Sunday Service. We have a summer camp and sponsor a lot of inner city kids to go to the camp in the summer. One of our camp counselors was accused of inappropriate behavior with a first time camper. The counselor has been a member of the church for 20+ years, never any question. The police were called that day. The church was told that Sunday and prayed for the truth to be discovered.
It turns out the child had some mental issues and the man was cleared. When it was resolved the Pastor told the church during Sunday Service and we gave praise to the Lord. The point is don't cover up anything and don't assume you know better than people who have spent years in the field.