By The TimesLedger
Ask almost any law-enforcement professional and they will tell you that no one has found a successful way of rehabilitating sex offenders, especially the ones who victimize children. The best that society can hope to do is make it impossible or at least difficult for the pedophile to have access to children.
For this reason, we believe the people of Queens have the right to be concerned and angry that a confessed pedophile is now running his own Greek Orthodox Church in Woodside. Pangratios Vrionis was accused of sodomizing two 14-year-old boys when he served as a priest with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America in Harrisburg, Pa. He left Pennsylvania and started his own church in Queens.
It may be that Vrionis has put his sordid past behind him and would never again taken advantage of young boys. But why take the chance? You wouldn't want a recovering alcoholic to work as a bartender and you wouldn't a pedophile, even a recovering pedophile, to play the role of pastor.
There are consequences to every action and the result of abusing children is to lose the public's trust for a lifetime. There are no second chances for those who sexually abuse children. They can no longer lay claim to the public's trust.
Vrionis may be an excellent pastor, now. However, as a convicted pedophile, he is not worth the risk.
