IMAGE: CNS photo/Chaz Muth
By Chaz Muth
PITTSBURGH
(CNS) — Pennsylvania survivors of clergy sex abuse spent the week after the release of the grand jury report finding
their voice as bishops and priests in the state wrestled with how to address the
growing scandal.
Several
of the survivors traveled around the state to speak publicly about their victimization
at the hands of predator priests, many of whom said their “coming out” is
liberating them from decades of shame.
Ed
Rodgers of Bradford said he found the courage to re-emerge more
than 20 years after he accused a priest of molesting him as a youth.
Though
Rodgers, now 45, said he was publicly shamed by the Diocese of Erie, lay Catholics
in his hometown and the state legal system in the late 1990s, he said a recent
scathing grand jury report inspired him to break his silence.
A
Pennsylvania grand jury report released Aug. 14 detailed more than 1,000 claims
of sex abuse in six dioceses in the state going back 70 years and identified
301 priests and church workers who may have committed the crimes. The report
also singled out some bishops for their improper handling of accused abusers.
Rodgers,
who spoke with reporters in front of Bradford’s St. Bernard Catholic Church
Aug. 21, had plenty of company from others in the state who say they were
sexually abused by priests.
Many
of them gathered with members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, better
known as SNAP, in front of diocesan buildings throughout Pennsylvania beginning
Aug. 20, telling their stories, demanding changes in the statute of limitation
laws, and calling for accountability from bishops and the church.
Reaction by church
officials was different from diocese to diocese.
The Aug. 20 SNAP news
conference at the Diocese of Pittsburgh was tense, angry and confrontational,
while the Aug. 21 event at the Diocese of Erie was congenial, with gratitude expressed
by the survivors who organized it.
As news camera operators jockeyed
for position on the crammed Pittsburgh sidewalk to hear the survivors’ testimonials,
a priest who works for diocese came out of the building to listen to the
speakers.
The priest’s presence
angered a few survivors who called Pittsburgh Bishop David A.
Zubik a “coward” for not coming out himself.
While
some of the survivors engaged in respectful dialogue with Msgr. Ron Lengwin, vicar
for church relations for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, others began to shout, and
the scene digressed into an anger-charged event laced with profanity.
By
contrast, when the same group of survivors and SNAP organizers arrived at the
Diocese of Erie the next day, they were greeted by Bishop Lawrence T. Persico,
who invited them to move their news conference from the sidewalk along the
street, which is a good distance from the front of the building, onto the
diocesan headquarters property.
When
the SNAP organizers said they were not allowed onto church property, Bishop
Persico assured them it was within his power to grant them permission, at which
time they appreciatively accepted the invitation.
Though
the survivors still made demands and called for the church not to lobby against
a change in the statute of limitations laws, the tone was in striking contrast
to the event in Pittsburgh and organizers told members of the media they
appreciated the bishop’s presence.
“I’m
quite surprised,” said Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest regional leader. “I have done
press events in many dioceses all over the country and he is the first bishop I
have ever met.”
About
an hour before the event began, Bishop Persico told Catholic News Service he
wanted to go out and listen and his only hesitation was that he didn’t want his
presence to overshadow what the survivors came there to say.
Ultimately,
he opted to personally let the group know they were welcomed and that he was
listening, which he said he thought was important for them and for the Catholic
Church.
Though
Bishop Persico acknowledged the institution was reeling from the blow of the
grand jury report, he said it was self-inflicted wound and that it was a moral
obligation of church leaders to not only do penance for these sins, they needed
to begin the healing process by listening to all of those who are suffering.
Following
the event, Bishop Persico had a private meeting with Pittsburgh resident Jim
VanSickle, who has accused a former teacher at Bradford Central Christian High School, Father
David Poulson, of
molesting him in the late 1970s.
Father
Poulson was charged last May with indecent assault, endangering the welfare of
children and corruption of minors, stemming from an accusation from two boys.
Like
most of the survivors who testified before the grand jury, VanSickle is
prevented from filing charges or bringing a lawsuit, because his accusations
are nearly four decades old.
Though
he had told his parents and wife about an incident involving Poulson many years
ago, he didn’t speak out publicly until the priest’s arrest earlier this year.
“Before
I started to speak out, I told my wife (Trish VanSickle), ‘If I do this, I’m doing
it all of the way,” he told CNS. “She understood that meant media coverage and
relinquishing our privacy. She was supportive, like she always is, and encouraged
me to do it.”
VanSickle
has given countless national media interviews since the grand jury report was
released and has become a very public advocate to change Pennsylvania law to
allow survivors to file charges and bring civil suits against their assailants
decades later.
“It
took me decades to come to terms with what happened to me, and I’m being
punished for that with the statute of limitations, meaning, I won’t get my day
in court,” he said.
Though
his public crusade has drawn both praise and criticism, Trish VanSickle said it’s
been cleansing and therapeutic for her husband, who was prone to erratic mood
swings and outbursts before he came to terms with what had happened to him.
Though
people are often afraid to come forward about such abuse at the hands of
predator priests, they usually find tremendous relief once they do, said Father
Raymond Gramata, pastor at VanSickle’s boyhood parish, St. Bernard Catholic
Church in Bradford.
The
#MeToo movement, a social media campaign that has emboldened women to call out
sexual abuse and harassment without being publicly shamed for it, has made the current
climate easier for those abused by priests to come forward with less fear of repercussions,
Bishop Persico said.
In
the past it wasn’t unusual for accusers to be publicly shamed by parishioners
who rallied behind their beloved priest, questioning their honesty and motives
for coming forward, he said.
“We
have to stop that kind of shaming,” Father Gramata said, “or else there can be
no healing. The people who were harmed and damaged can’t heal if that happens
and the church can’t heal either.
“We
can’t continue to sweep this under the carpet,” he said. “We need to air this
out and deal with it. Trust me, everyone needs to heal from this.”
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