FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram
By Darren Barbee
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH - He woke up groggy, his two front teeth shattered, blood on his bathroom floor.
He cannot remember what pills he took trying to end his life last year. He had attempted suicide two other times as well, desperate and angry about being abused by Monsignor James Reilly when he was 11, he said.
"It was just this feeling that I was alone, that I was the only one, not being sure there were others," said the 42-year-old Arlington man, who asked not to be named.
Now he feels twice betrayed by the Fort Worth Roman Catholic Diocese because officials waited three years to tell him that at least three other men had accused Reilly of sexual abuse.
Reilly was one of eight priests the diocese named this month as having been accused of sexually abusing children. But releasing only the names has raised more questions than it answered, victims and their advocates say. The diocese continues to withhold information such as how many times each clergyman has been accused and whether the allegations have been substantiated.
But others, including priests, are concerned that releasing the files of the accused men would only cause more pain.
One woman who says she was a victim said that she was treated honorably and that she trusts the diocese to tell the truth.
But conflicting information about the priest she accused, the Rev. Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen, highlights the confusion after the release of the names.