Brunch with Jaime Elizabeth and Virginia, The Garden of Roses Stories of Abuse and Healing, March 30, 2010

Brunch with Jaime, Elizabeth, and Virginia

The Garden of Roses: Stories of Abuse and Healing
March 30, 2010

http://web.me.com/virginiajones/Compsassionate_Gathering/The_Garden_of_Roses/Entries/2010/3/30_Brunch_with_Jaime%2C_Elizabeth%2C_and_Virginia.html

PORTLAND (OR) -- Date: May 1, 2010

Time: 10:30 AM to 1PM

Where: Elizabeth Goeke's home

in Portland, Oregon (call for directions to get there)

Join us for brunch and an informal conversation on healing the wounds of abuse.

Dr. Jaime Romo now

Brunch Panel:

Dr. Jaime Romo was sexually abused by a priest as a boy. He later studied to be a priest at St. John Seminary, dropping out before being ordained. He went on the be a teacher, a school administrator, and then a professor of education at a Catholic university. When his own sons reached the age he was when he was abused, memories of the his long buried abuse began to surface, throwing him into a personal and professional crisis. He became a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, leading leaflettings and press conferences about church policies relative to abuse. Eventually he found himself let go from his position as an instructor at the Catholic university where he taught. This caused him to take the next step in the healing process -- he attended a program, "Healing the Heart," at the Chopra Center and began a practice of meditation. His journey led him to write a workbook to help survivors become thrivers -- Healing the Sexually Abused Heart. This book will be available to purchase at this event. A portion of the proceeds will go to fund the Walk Across Oregon to to Stop Child Abuse and Heal the Wounds. See Jaime's website at www.jaimeromo.com.

Virginia at age 6, two years after being sexually abused

Elizabeth Goeke is a clergy abuse survivor and clinical counselor. When she was a 21 year old nun, she was assaulted on Christmas Eve by her confessor in her convent. The priest told her that he had a "right" to her body. Elizabeth managed to fight off her assailant. She went to another priest to "confess" the event to him. He told her that she had to remain silent or be excommunicated. When she could no longer remain silent, he told her that she had lost her vocation as a nun. She returned to her parent's home and went to her parish to confess to the local priest and ask what her new vocation should be. That priest threw her out of the church. Elizabeth came to terms with her abuse in 2002 when the Catholic clergy abuse issue erupted. Elizabeth co-founded Compassionate Gathering in 2007 with Virginia Jones. Elizabeth has found healing in supporting other survivors on their own journeys of healing.

Virginia Jones was sexually abused by two teenaged boys at age 4 and raped on a date at age 22. Virginia could not separate the damage caused by abuse from other bad events in her life -- her mother was alcoholic and in and out of psychiatric hospitals throughout her childhood. Later she was unable to tell others about her rape due to shame and guilt. Virginia came to terms with her past when an abusive priest was removed from her Catholic parish. She reached out to clergy abuse survivors and started therapy at their urging. Later she progressed further on the path to healing through retreats and mentoring from The Compassionate Listening Project. She co-founded Compassionate Gathering with Elizabeth Goeke in 2007. In 2008 she started Walking Across Oregon during the summer with family and friends to draw attention to child abuse and start healing the wounds by having fun and connecting to other survivors and supportive individuals and organizations.