GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Aug. 25, 2003-- John Geoghan was accused of molesting more than 147 young boys as a Catholic priest.   He was convicted of one case and sentenced to six years.   A cellblock-mate suffered child molestation.

     In a fit of anger or revenge, the defrocked priest's cellblock-mate strangled the sixty-eight year old, jammed the door so the guards could not enter, and painfully ended the convicted pedophile's life. 
       Not all the victim's were happy about the child abuser's death.  According to the attorney representing many of the former priest's victims, they felt robbed.  Attorney Mitchell Garabedian said many victims wanted the former priest to suffer behind bars, to waste out the rest of his life in reflection of his crimes against the innocence of the young, and the betrayal of trust placed in him by both the Church and Catholic community.

        Geoghan's case was especially important in uncovering the scandal of covering up child abuse by Church officials.   His arrest and conviction led to the ousting of Cardinal Bernard Law, Archbishop of Boston and fired a heated investigation into the Catholic Church's covering up of many similar cases..
       But the issue at hand is:  Does Terrorism upon a Terrorist create Vigilance?   Or, does it merely breed more Terrorism?
       There is no question that the dead former priest ruined the lives of many young, innocent victims.    A close friend of mine, a woman, was molested for years by her father and still suffers the horror of her innocence being violated by a man who was bound by nature and society to protect her from harm.
        Child abusers fall into a special Terror category.
        They are, without question, the most insidious of all Terrorists, for the trust that shields them is a hiding place for their crimes against humanity, a shield that often allows them to escape the criminal, civil and moral laws of the land.
         Children, unfortunately, carry the secret of the crime with them.   Countless molested children never speak out, fearful they will not be believed or ashamed or frequently thinking they caused the horrible events to happen.  These children often carry their misplaced guilt and shame throughout adulthood.

        "He never showed one sign of remorse for what he had done," stated the attorney for the victims this morning on Fox News.
          Child molesters are true monsters of Terror to children and the world.   They use their power or position to steal something that can never be given back, repaired, or healed.   The scars on the molested child's soul may thicken with time, but they harden the soul like brine does leather until a part of them is so fortified even psychotherapy can't break through.  They live in the shadow of the Beast, a lonely life within their own shell of safety, fearful of letting themselves flower for fear their petals will be plucked.
         My friend's father still remains a "pillar of society."   To those who know him, he's a "grand old guy" who was the leader in his community and profession, a "perfect father," a great "husband," and a wonderful "public servant."    But to his daughter, he is the Beast of the Night.  He is the "devil."   He is "evil." He is the thief of her innocence.
         Child molesters have a knack for making the victim of their crimes silent.   They stamp their mark on the child's soul, and then with their power gag and bind the child so the child cannot speak out without fear of reprisal.   Pedophilia  is sexual contact between an adult and a child who hasn't reached puberty.  Ephebophilia is intense sexual interest in teenagers.
          Hopefully, the death of Geoghan will open the lips of those silent victims.   While an eye-for-an-eye doesn't apply here in a physical sense, it does in an emotional one.  Perhaps the death of the priest will allow those who have been afraid to speak out unbind the gags in their soul, and free themselves of a horrible secret that sours their soul.
          Still, the killing of Geoghan bothers me.    Some of the victim-children, now adults, might think that death is some payment, some form of reparation for the brutal crimes that befell them.   This, I believe, would only feed the thirst of the Beast of Terror who seeks to fertilize violence of the soul with more violence of the soul.

      This doesn't imply that the death penalty isn't deserving for those who kill a child's soul.   There is no question that the molester commits moral homicide upon a part of a child, deadens that section of the child's moral soul as brutally as though he or she had shot the child in the heart.
        The pain of such an attack is a crime against all humanity, but, so is murder.
        When we kill another for a crime, despite how ugly that crime is, we endorse violence.    We underscore its righteousness.
        As a former U.S. Marine and combat veteran, I was trained to kill and participated in countless deaths of others.  I know a little more than I should about killing, and, can attest that in the final analysis, it serves little purpose except to kill a part of the killer and all that he touches.
       Even "just killing" by those who are "licensed to kill" leaves a hole in that person's soul.     Condoning killing in any form, tells children that violence is authorized in "some situations."
       Sanctioning murder or executions signifies the Beast of Terror has not yet been restrained within us, as citizens of the world.    It means we still hunger to see blood for blood, and to feast upon the victimization of the perpetrator of high crimes.

     There can be little doubt that for some, the death of Georghan was sweet revenge.   And, surely some may have wished they had been there to help in his final demise as a way of paying back some portion for what was stolen from them.
       But, in the aftermath of the defrocked priest's death, the issue still haunts the moral mind--Is killing justified regardless of who the victim is or what he or she might have done to others?
       I have trouble denying that executions are just because of my violent personal background.   Part of me wants to thrust the Sword of Vigilance into the hearts of all those who Terrorize children.    But, there is another part of me that is restrained from doing so.
       This part is connected to the Principles of Vigilance.  It shouts to me that Courage must overpower Fear, Conviction must rule over Intimidation, and Right Actions for the Children's Children's Children must replace Complacency.
       Killing Geoghan would not be a good message for future generations.   Keeping him alive in a small cell so that some day he might issue his repentance and accept his part in the crimes of humanity, might be worth all the expense.    A child might learn from someone like the former priest that we, society, while not condoning such behavior, allow for the criminal to change.
       This slim thread of hope for the recanting of such crimes opens the door to a child who is a victim.   He or she might see that if the worst of us can change and become sorry for our crimes, then we, the victims, can change.   We, the victims, can go on and grow out of the Beast's shadow.
       I know an older woman who will not speak to her daughter about the past.   She shuts the door on it, fearful that by opening it the guilt and shame of the past may drown her.   So she refuses to accept her daughter's need to clear the decks of the past.   They are excommunicated from themselves because of the parent's lack of moral strength to confront the past and fertilize the flowers of the future.
       Still, the daughter holds hope that one day her mother will call her and want to talk, will want to heal the wounds of the past.
       Death would only close such a door of potential reparation.
       Vigilance forces us to think past our passions for justice and look for the value of lessons of evolution.
       If we are to evolve, we can never accept death as a price for any crime.  Even for child molestation, the worst of all crimes.

       For people like myself who have lived in a world of violence, I need the Pledge of Vigilance to remind me not to gloat over Georghan's death and say:  "He got what he deserved.  I just wish I had been the one that strangled him."
       Instead, I print the Pledge of Vigilance and remind myself that I am a Sentinel of Vigilance, not a Sentinel of Terrorism.
      That means I need to not seek revenge, but rather seek Vigilance.   For when everyone is a Sentinel of Vigilance, the idea that we turn over our children to people who might take advantage of them dwindles.
      A Sentinel of Vigilance learns how to make sure a child isn't afraid of telling him or her any "secret."  And if that were the case with the 147 victims of Geoghan, then perhaps he wouldn't have gotten past the first injustice in the beginning of his evil reign.
      Protect your children.  Take the Pledge of Vigilance today.  Be their Sentinel of Vigilance.

Aug 23--Wedding Shower Of Vigilance

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