The frail image of a 92 year old former Catholic priest can inspire instinctive human empathy to the point of hoping the priest can live out the rest of his life in peace. However, when the fraile image of a 92 year old priest is that of former New Orleans Catholic priest Lawrence Hecker, the instinct for empathy is replaced with harsh condemnation.
At 92, Lawrence Hecker is facing charges of raping young boys in the 1970s. The official charges are aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, an aggravated crime against nature, and theft. The sex crimes allegedly occurred between Jan 1, 1975 and December 31, 1976. New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams said in a statement that "The physical, emotional, and mental harm from sexual abuse lasts a lifetime."
Hecker's age should not deter feelings of shock over the sex crimes that were alleged to have happened. In fact - Hecker actually confessed to the sex crimes on-camera with WWL-TV.
The desire to see this ex-priest punished - even at this point in his life - is justified. Hecker is lucky that he has lived to the age of 92 without spending any time in prison for his alleged sex crimes.
We can appreciate that Hecker is facing prosecution, but the fact that it has taken this long to bring him to justice adds to the tragedy.
The Catholic Church is known to have protected priests that sexually molested children by moving them from one parish to another and that should explain why a priest who admits he sexually abused young boys in the mid-70s is only being held accountable today.
The Catholic Church appears to have changed - but it needs to address this travesty of justice today in 2023.
