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	It's Not about the Money — for Us: Survivors of Catholic Church Sex Abuse Want Justice By Gabrielle Azzaro North County Times [California] March 24, 2007 http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03/25/perspective/19_55_293_24_07.txt For the last four years Catholics have repeatedly been exposed to reports about sexual abuse by priests. Yet, the ordinary Catholic in the pew has virtually remained untouched by these heinous crimes, and that makes the news a two-edged sword. The good news is that there are not more people who had to endure the lifelong effects of sexual molestation by a religious person. The bad news is that without understanding these deadening effects, it is too easy to pretend that this has not, and is not, happening in monumental proportions. I believe if a victim were to be allowed to speak at all Masses in the dioceses, Catholics would have a much better understanding of their agony, and perhaps support the victims to make sure that this does not happen ever again. But even if that does not happen, we need to keep this news in the headlines to ensure that the authorities finally do whatever it takes to keep innocent children and vulnerable adults from being raped and sodomized. One of the questions many people ask is, "All of this happened so long ago, why do we have to keep hashing it out over and over again?" My response would be multifaceted. First of all, we have no indication that sexual molestation by priests, sisters and brothers or any other Catholic personnel has actually ended. All studies show that once a person molests, that person will not stop until he/she is stopped by an outside force. Studies also show that most often victims are not able to report until many years after the abuse. That will not change just because this has become public. In fact, seeing the treatment victims are receiving at the hands of the church may instead discourage new victims from reporting. In addition, many of the accused priests have been defrocked. This is not solving the problem, but merely putting these now ex-priests out on the street to continue raping and sodomizing innocent children and vulnerable adults. A personal experience here may help to drive home this point. I was sexually molested by a Catholic religious sister. For many years I kept this a secret. When I discovered last year that the woman who had raped me almost nightly for almost two years was still a principal of a Catholic elementary school, I reported her to the diocese in which she was teaching. They did nothing for a long time, so I held a press conference. She was "terminated" shortly afterward. However, within a month she got a job in the neighboring diocese as a pastoral associate. When I asked the previous bishop how this could happen, he told me that what she had done was not "criminal in nature" so he could not share the information. It was not technically a crime because the statute of limitations had run out, and I could not report her. So, she is now free to roam around and continue to molest. She is not registered as a sex offender, and the Catholic church will not even share information among themselves to keep people safe from her and others like her. (Actually, when I called another diocese in the state, I spoke with two women who asked me for her information: address, description, age and so on. They assured me that she would not be employed by their diocese! So, it is not necessarily universal.) Speaking as a victim/survivor, I want to assure the ordinary Catholic that when we seek justice, it is not for the money. It is not about the money for us. What we want is that the church disclose the names of men and women who have been credibly accused. It really is difficult to doubt someone who comes forward, who is willing to face the wrath of the church hierarchy, the angry Catholics whom we encounter when we leaflet, as well as unbelieving family members and friends. Why would we come forward and tell our stories if they were not the truth? We want to do whatever it takes to prevent another innocent child or vulnerable adult from enduring the agony we have lived with and will live with for the rest of our lives. We do not want any churches to close. We do not want money from schools about to be built. All we want is that the bishops and cardinals who lied and covered up for so many years tell the truth and suffer the consequences they deserve for not protecting their flock. We want sexually predatory priests and sisters out of ministry, but it cannot end there. They must be registered as sex offenders so as secular people they are not allowed to continue raping and sodomizing innocent people. Defrocking priests just frees them to continue to act on their sexual proclivities without anyone having knowledge of their previous record and without anyone checking up on them. No one is safe until the offenders and those who covered up for them and transferred them from parish to parish are held accountable. Even with the stigma of sexual abuse, many Catholic parents teach their children to respect priests and sisters, and treat them differently from the ordinary person. After all, they have devoted their lives to God. It is that very belief that has left children and adults vulnerable to predatory priests. Since they are "nearer to God" than ordinary people, it is difficult to believe that sexual molestation at their hands has actually happened. Therefore, the victim is the one who suffers the shame, guilt, fear and self-loathing that the perpetrator should be suffering. Often the priest has told his victim that he does this with God's blessing. Often the priest tells the victim that he has the permission and knowledge of his/her parents. One man who testified to the Philadelphia grand jury explained to them that the priest had told the boy his mother had given permission for the priest to abuse him. As a result of that, he had not spoken with his mother since then. Finally, after he testified and discovered the truth, mother and son spoke and started building a relationship. The truth needs to come out. Cardinals and bishops and even popes need to be held accountable for the crimes they have allowed to occur. Some of them need to be held accountable for the crimes they have actually committed. Until the truth is known, the abuse will continue. Cardinals and bishops have gotten away with allowing rape and sodomy for too long. We are the ones who have to stop them. The Catholic Church is not the hierarchy; it is the people of God. Many of those people have been and are being sexually molested and are helpless to do anything about it. Gabrielle Azzaro is director of Halstrom High School in Oceanside and is San Diego leader of the victims advocacy group SNAP — Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
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