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Friendly Atheist ★ Priest defends convicted abuser in shocking sermon.

A high-ranking priest in Australia told his congregation that it was wrong for them to condemn a fellow priest who was recently found guilty of sexual abuse, downplaying the seriousness of the crimes.

“Sheep do not judge their shepherd,” he told them.

It follows a wild years-long legal battle that was only made public in recent weeks.

The story involves Alexis Rosentool, a priest working in the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ANZ ROCOR). In 2022, he was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting two men in the 1980s and doing the same to a child “two decades later.”

Adding another twist to this story, shortly after he was arrested, a right-wing Russian propagandist on YouTube began talking about those charged on his popular YouTube channel despite an order forbidding anyone from mentioning the priest’s name in association with his alleged crimes. The authorities in Australia did this to prevent the YouTuber “from tainting a jury pool with his enormous social media following.” That YouTuber defied the suppression order and was himself sentenced to 10 months in jail. 

"Sheep Do Not Judge The Shepherd"

Friendly Atheist ★ Priest defends convicted abuser in shocking sermon.

A high-ranking priest in Australia told his congregation that it was wrong for them to condemn a fellow priest who was recently found guilty of sexual abuse, downplaying the seriousness of the crimes.

“Sheep do not judge their shepherd,” he told them.

It follows a wild years-long legal battle that was only made public in recent weeks.

The story involves Alexis Rosentool, a priest working in the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ANZ ROCOR). In 2022, he was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting two men in the 1980s and doing the same to a child “two decades later.”

Adding another twist to this story, shortly after he was arrested, a right-wing Russian propagandist on YouTube began talking about those charged on his popular YouTube channel despite an order forbidding anyone from mentioning the priest’s name in association with his alleged crimes. The authorities in Australia did this to prevent the YouTuber “from tainting a jury pool with his enormous social media following.” That YouTuber defied the suppression order and was himself sentenced to 10 months in jail. 

clerical sex abuse Friendly Atheist

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