This man had no business in any position of authority - or working with children. I knew that as a 7th grader at St. Christine's. If a 7th grade student knows someone is bad at his core, people of authority in the church and school should know the same. They did not protect me when he publicly humiliated me and they should have. I was an innocent child. Even my parents who were outraged by his inappropriately aggressive behavior toward me were afraid to make the call to the school, and did not. I can only imagine the kind of abuse he inflicted privately, knowing that nobody would stand up to him. He had way too much power, and he abused it. There were many rumbling allegations about this man over a long time, so the only surprise is that it took this long to show up in the public eye. It is likely there are many more scarred individuals out there from all kinds of power abuse. Nevertheless, it taught me that the church is fallible - and made up of flawed people just like the rest of us - not demigods. And, for that, I am grateful to be a smart person who thinks on my own, and not an obedient sheep. If more people felt that way, the church would be much healthier, because we would and should expect more from our leaders than we do.
Fallout from abuse
This man had no business in any position of authority - or working with children. I knew that as a 7th grader at St. Christine's. If a 7th grade student knows someone is bad at his core, people of authority in the church and school should know the same. They did not protect me when he publicly humiliated me and they should have. I was an innocent child. Even my parents who were outraged by his inappropriately aggressive behavior toward me were afraid to make the call to the school, and did not. I can only imagine the kind of abuse he inflicted privately, knowing that nobody would stand up to him. He had way too much power, and he abused it. There were many rumbling allegations about this man over a long time, so the only surprise is that it took this long to show up in the public eye. It is likely there are many more scarred individuals out there from all kinds of power abuse. Nevertheless, it taught me that the church is fallible - and made up of flawed people just like the rest of us - not demigods. And, for that, I am grateful to be a smart person who thinks on my own, and not an obedient sheep. If more people felt that way, the church would be much healthier, because we would and should expect more from our leaders than we do.
June 11, 2009 at 10:17 a.m. permalink suggest removal