By John Sanidopoulos
I was asked today by email the following question (which I condensed so as not to reveal any personal information of the inquirer):
"As you are aware, these days much is being is said in the media about sexual assault, and for the most part I think this is a good thing, as it needs to be exposed and women should feel comfortable to expose it if in fact they are the victims of such abuse. What troubles me is that many people are also saying that we should believe every accusation a woman makes regarding sexual assault, I guess because women feel they have been forced to keep silent for too long, or for whatever other reason. This troubles me because I personally have been accused of a sexual assault in the past, and it devastated my life because I knew none of it was true. My comfort at the time was reading scripture and the lives of the saints, and thankfully my wife believed me. Now this took place for me about twenty years ago, and the woman personally apologized to me about the false accusation not long after, and it was all swept under the rug as I moved on to another job, but because I know firsthand of myself and others I know that these accusations can be false unless proven not to be or at least examined, I was wondering, with your vast knowledge of Church history and the lives of the saints, if there are any specific examples of honorable people who were unjustly accused of sexual assault. Thank you."
