June 13, 2005

Priest-abuse victim speaks out

TOLEDO (OH)
Toledo Blade

By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

For the last 20 years, Dennis O'Loughlin has been waging war to regain his soul.

Until now, he's been fighting his battle privately. But today, Mr. O'Loughlin is dropping his cloak of anonymity and appearing before an estimated 14 million Oprah Winfrey viewers in a program titled "Molested by a Priest."

Also appearing on Oprah is Tony Comes, the Toledo firefighter and clerical sexual abuse victim featured in the documentary Twist of Faith.

Mr. O'Loughlin, a 34-year-old Toledo salesman, filed a lawsuit against the Toledo Catholic Diocese in 2002 under the name of John Doe, claiming that he was raped and molested repeatedly between the ages of 13 and 15 by former Toledo diocesan priest Dennis Gray - the same cleric who allegedly molested Mr. Comes when he was a boy.

In an interview with The Blade yesterday, with his parents and his wife by his side, Mr. O'Loughlin said he's been tormented and embarrassed by the abuse.

Posted by kshaw at June 13, 2005 08:28 AM