JOLIET (IL)
The Herald News
By Ted Slowik
STAFF WRITER
JOLIET — Bobby Drish grew up in a devout Roman Catholic household, where his parents often entertained priests and addressed them on a first-name basis.
So Bobby's parents never questioned why their son spent so much time with the Rev. Michael Gibbney, a priest at their Bolingbrook parish when Bobby was between the ages of 11 and 13. In 2002, when he finally told them that the priest had sexually abused him, Bobby's parents disowned him. Two days later, he suffered a heart attack at age 35.
Now 38, Drish is using the Internet and other media to reveal the most detailed public account to date alleging how a Joliet Diocese priest manipulated a young boy into a sexual relationship. He says he's now able for the first time to candidly discuss his experiences publicly.
"What people fail to understand is that (years after the) sexual trauma on an 11-year-old and the power, booze and pills, we tend to suddenly remember things we blocked out. Why? Because I am finally the age of my perpetrator," Drish said from his home in Austin, Texas.
On the eve of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' meeting in Chicago this weekend, Drish's story takes on added significance. The bishops are expected to make subtle changes to their policies regarding abusive priests, and critics say the bishops are watering down the safeguards.