ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch
By Tim Townsend
Of the Post-Dispatch
Monday, Feb. 21 2005
What Tim Fischer wanted more than anything else was an apology.
He wanted someone to say "I'm sorry" for the fact that when he was 11 years old
he was raped by the late Rev. Norman Christian, a Roman Catholic priest in the
Archdiocese of St. Louis who was removed from ministry in 1995.
So, in his settlement with the archdiocese, Fischer, now 43 and an electrician
from Crystal City, asked for an apology, in writing, from Archbishop Raymond
Burke. That was in mid-December. Fischer got his letter on Saturday. But more
than 30 victims and their parents have been waiting for apologies from Burke,
some for a year or more.
The archdiocese has repeatedly said it will do everything in its power to help
heal victims of sexual abuse at the hands of its priests. In his letter of
apology, Burke offered to meet with Fischer.