There is something unique about the nature of priestly abuse. For starters, in some families, “holy men” are often seen in a different light than others. The church paints itself as bridging the gap between mortals and the divine, and for some folks, this represents the most important job anyone can have. Some people are so enamored with the priestly class that they will defend them, even at the cost of their own family.

When a young girl in Miami Oklahoma accused her pastor, Fred McCoy Gammon Jr,  her sister and mother turned against her, accusing her of lying. They even testified in court that the abuse was impossible, since “his character is amazing”, as one put it. These poor brainwashed fools threw their family member under the bus rather than admit the man is a panty sniffing pervert.

There is plenty of evidence to convict Gammon, including text messages he sent the teen telling her how “hot” she was. His wife tried to downplay the whole affair, admitting that while her husband showed troubling behavior, he was repentant the whole time, which meant that everything was fine. When he confessed to her that he couldn’t get the girl out of his mind, they fasted. This, according to her, was enough to get a pedophile to stop fantasizing about a young child. It obviously had no effect.

The trial is still ongoing, but I think it’s safe to assume a few things. Firstly, this family is finished. You cannot survive something like this. Having your mother and sister take the side of the abuser is not something a person can really forgive. The father, to his credit, didn’t doubt his daughter, and when the scumbag tried to confess to him, Gammon was repeatedly beaten in retaliation. He faces no charges. How he feels about his wife is unknown.

Secondly, we can reasonably assume that once Gammon is found guilty, there will still be plenty of people who will come to his defense, even when he’s a disgraced priest. This is the power of religion. It can make you turn your back on your child and side with her rapist. There’s not a lot of ideologies that can claim such a powerful degree of control over a human being.

Lastly, I think another tragedy in this story is the fact that the girl, now a young woman, is still interested in missionary work. Somehow, getting assaulted by one of God’s representative wasn’t enough to convince her that religion is an obvious con job. One wonders what it takes to get people to jump ship from such an organization. So long as religions continue to claim that they hold the keys to the afterlife, you can bet that desperate individuals will continue to let these organizations get away with murder.