End Priest Abuse
My friends, I have a very exciting announcement to bring to you during this season of love – the publication of Lost and Found: A Children’s Christmas Story. I finally accomplished something I have always wanted to do — I wrote a children’s book. Lost and Found is my first attempt at writing for children. … Read more
Let’s Work Together to Eliminate the Statute of Limitations As survivors of sexual abuse, most of us can attest to the fact that the criminal act of sexual assault, especially of a child, can take years and years to uncover. Because my abuser was a priest, the trauma overwhelmed me. I buried the truth until I … Read more
Stories About Story As I prepared to send out copies of my memoir, SPLIT, A Child, A Priest, and the Catholic Church to reviewers, I decided to include a letter with each one. So last week I worked with a designer to create a letterhead. When she asked if I wanted a tag line on … Read more
If you think about it, the veterans we honor this Veterans Day are actually survivors. They have come through terrific conflicts, hardships, pain, injury, devastating losses of comrades. Theirs is a vast sacrifice and they deserve every ounce of honor and support we can give them, on this day and any other. But as we … Read more
Once again the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has loudly and clearly insisted that the Vatican and Pope Francis remove all priest child abusers and report them to local law enforcement. The committee further insisted the Vatican open all associated records so that Bishops and other church officials who have contributed … Read more
Every year or so my friend, Sue and I do a workshop for teachers called Kids for Kindness. It helps teachers identify and deal with bullying in their classes. We presented the workshop at the Washington Association for the Education of Young Children conference this weekend. The session was one of many trainings provided for … Read more
The Power of Bearing Witness Over the years, as I’ve come to grips with the things that happened to me as a child, I’ve learned to take my responsibility to tell the truth about the church and abuse very seriously. In religious circles it’s often called bearing witness. Though usually that term is reserved for … Read more
Though my focus here on Mary Dispenza is primarily healing from and stopping priest abuse, there are some other things I’m excited about. Here’s one – giving African children a fighting chance against malaria. NBA star Stephen Curry shares that interest. On ESPN today there’s a wonderful story about his trip to Tanzania to deliver … Read more