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“My
wife and I didn’t
know my son had been raped until 2002. Bishop Pilla knew in
1981.” Parent of an abuse victim
Report from Fred McGunagle, VOTF Cleveland, OH
It seems that “Father has been sent where he will not deal with children” may have surpassed “The check is in the mail” as
the most common lie.
That was the impression
created by clergy sex abuse victims and their parents at a
rally for Senate Bill 17 yesterday in Westlake City Hall.
The bill would give victims of clergy sex abuse an extra year
to sue their abusers for crimes on which the statute of limitations
has run out. The meeting drew about 30 people, mostly members
of SNAP( Survivors’ Network of Those Abused by Priests) and
Voice of the Faithful, which sponsored the meeting.
Before they spoke,
Barbara Blaine, the founder and president of SNAP, asked for
a moment to remember deceased victims of sex abuse by priests.
She said, “One hundred seventy-five have taken their own lives.” Blaine described what happened when she finally mustered the courage to tell the bishop of Toledo about her rape in 1985. The bishop reacted with surprise. He told her there were no other accusations against the priest. “You’re the first one to ever come forward,” he
said.
Later, she obtained a report from a treatment center where the priest had been sent after accusations dating back to 1961. The report recommended he be removed from ministry.
Still later, she
learned he was now a chaplain at a hospital. When she confronted
the bishop, he assured her the priest was being monitored
by a nun on the hospital staff. When her father was admitted
to the hospital, the nun told her she was unaware of any sex
abuse accusations against the priest. “My perpetrator is still out there,” Blaine
said.
The father of Christopher
Kodger told the group, “My son was raped in 1981. My son is in Alaska, where he hides.” Kodger is suing the diocese for saying that the transfer of his son’s
rapist to another parish with a school had been had approved
by the Kodger family. At a deposition hearing in July, Pilla
admitted he learned of the rape in 1981, but reassigned the
priest to other parishes.
.
“My wife and I didn’t know my son had been raped until 2002,” Kodger said. “Bishop
Pilla knew in 1981.”
Claudia Vercelotti
of Toledo, head of the Ohio SNAP chapter, eventually got enough
courage to report her rape to her bishop. “He told me I was the only one,” she said. “He told me to forgive.” Later she found the priest had been reported for molesting five other girls. Nevertheless, he was assigned to other parishes and is still taking little girls on overnight “retreats.”
The session was a rally for support of Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Senator Bob Spada, Republican of North Royalton, whose district includes West Shore suburbs. Spada told how the bill had passed the Senate unanimously but was being fought vigorously in the House of Representatives by the six Ohio Catholic bishops.
Senator Marc Dann,
Democrat of Youngstown, came up for the meeting to add his
plea for support of the bill. He said of Spada, “Bob has stood up to strong political interests. I know the pressure that I’ve been under in my district.” He added, “I think we’re better than even money to get the bill passed. Don’t
give up at this point.”
Blaine ended the
meeting with a plea: “Tell your family members and friends and anybody who owes you a favor to contact their representative,” she
said. |
