ANCHORAGE (AK)
KTUU
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - by Megan Baldino
Anchorage, Alaska - In her first publicly televised interview, a woman who says former Nome priest Jim Poole sexually abused her as a child tells her story. Wednesday Elsie Boudreau joined another survivor to hand-deliver a letter to the Archbishop of Anchorage and several priests. It’s a letter demanding compassion and transparency for victims of clergy sex abuse, something Boudreau says victims aren't getting.
Boudreau and Joelle Casteix are on a mission. The two women are hand-delivering a letter to the Archbishop of Anchorage, Roger Schweitz. The letter addresses a lawsuit filed Tuesday against former Anchorage priest Francis Murphy. The victim identified as Joseph Doe claims he went to Schweitz but was not helped.
The mission is personal. Both women say they too were abused by clergy as children, Casteix at her California high school and Boudreau here in Alaska. The letter asks the archbishop to be more compassionate to victims. The visit is a continuation of a long journey of healing for both women.